President Joe Biden on Friday detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the grinding, nearly 8-month-old Mideast war.
Biden added that Hamas is “no longer capable” of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release the remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire.
The Democratic President, in remarks from the White House, called the proposal “a road map to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages.”
Biden said the first phase of the proposed deal would last for six weeks and would include a “full and complete cease-fire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all densely populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. American hostages would be released at this stage, and the remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families. Humanitarian assistance would surge during the first phase, with 600 trucks being allowed into Gaza each day.
The second phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza.
“And as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, the temporary cease-fire would become, in the words of the Israeli proposal, ‘the cessation of hostilities permanently,”” Biden said. The third phrase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from the devastation caused by the war.
The 4-1/2-page Israeli proposal was transmitted to Hamas on Thursday. Meanwhile, congressional leaders on Friday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver an address to the U.S. Capitol. The Invitation from the House, Mike Jhonson, a Republican and a Sinat Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has been in the work for some time, though there is great concern, especially among the Democrats, about Israel’s pursuit of the war been in the works for some time, though there is great concern, especially among the remaining committed Democrats, about Israel’s military defeat in pursuit of the war. No date for the speech was set.