US President says Israel has agreed to ‘enduring’ Gaza ceasefire proposal,
Washington DC(Webdesk)President Joe Biden asserted Friday that Hamas has been degraded to a point where it can no longer carry out the type of attack that launched the current eight-month conflict in Gaza, laying out a three-phase proposal Israel has submitted to wind down the grinding crisis as he declared, “It’s time for this war to end.”
It was perhaps the furthest Biden has gone in telling Israel its stated goals for its operation in Gaza have been met, and that the time has arrived to stop the fighting as part of a hostage deal.
“At this point, Hamas no longer is capable of carrying out another October 7, just one of Israel’s main objectives in this war, and quite frankly a righteous one,” Biden said at the White House.
The first phase would last six weeks and include the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza” and “release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.”
“And as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, the temporary ceasefire would become, in the words of the Israeli proposals, ‘the cessation of hostilities permanently,’” Biden said. In Phase 3, the president said, a “major reconstruction plan for Gaza would commence and any final remains of hostages who’ve been killed will be returned to their families.
Netanyahu insisted the country would not end the war until Hamas is defeated,
Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the Israeli prime minister authorised the country’s negotiating team to “present a proposal” to advance its goal of securing the release of captives held in Gaza.
The move also allows “Israel to continue the war until all its objectives are achieved, including the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities”, the statement said.
“Therefore, the Prime Minister authorized the negotiating team to present an outline for achieving this goal while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities.”
The Prime Minister’s Office insisted that the “exact outline” of Israel’s proposal allows Israel to “maintain these principles.”
Hamas released a statement later on Friday saying it viewed the proposal positively.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas views positively what was included in US President Joe Biden’s speech today,” the statement said. “The movement affirms its position of readiness to deal positively and constructively with any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, the return of the displaced to all their places of residence, and the completion of a serious prisoner exchange deal if the occupation declares its explicit commitment to that.”
Former President Barack Obama, in a rare statement about current events, said the ceasefire proposal is “clear, realistic and just.”
“A ceasefire alone won’t ease the terrible pain of Israelis whose loved ones were butchered or abducted by Hamas, or the Palestinians whose families have been shattered by the subsequent war,” Obama said. “It won’t resolve the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, or answer contentious issues surrounding a two-state solution or continuing settler activity in the West Bank. But what it can do is put a stop to the ongoing bloodshed, help families reunite and allow a surge of humanitarian aid to help desperate, hungry people.”
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