U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have reached a breakthrough deal that would see the phased release of hostages whom Hamas holds in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
“This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” Biden stated.
“It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran—but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy,” the president added. “My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.”
Speaking to the press at the White House after confirming the agreement, Biden said that the terms of the deal are the same as the three-phase implementation that he outlined in May.
“The deal is structured in three phases,” Biden said. “Phase one will last six weeks, and includes a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded.”
Biden added that Americans held by Hamas, three of whom are thought to be alive and another four dead, would be included in phase one of the deal. In a later response to a question about exactly which of the Americans would be released in phase one, Biden said that the details would be “forthcoming.”
In return for the release of hostages and the partial withdrawal from Gaza, Israel will release “hundreds of Palestinian prisoners,” and “Palestinians can also return to their neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza,” Biden said.
In phase two of the deal, which would last indefinitely, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the release of all remaining living hostages in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent cessation of hostilities.
“It is long past time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin,” Biden said on Wednesday. “I am thrilled that those who have been held hostage are being reunited with their families.”
Phase three would include the reconstruction of Gaza and the release of any of the corpses of dead hostages still held by Hamas.
Biden credited the efforts of his national security team and Israeli-American efforts to weaken Hamas’s allies in the region, including Hezbollah and Iran, with making the deal possible. He also said that he had instructed his team to work closely with the incoming Trump administration to ensure that “we’re all speaking with the same voice.”
“That’s what American presidents do,” Biden said.
A reporter asked Biden whether he thought that he or President-elect Donald Trump would be credited in the history books with securing the ceasefire deal.
“Is that a joke?” Biden said, before walking away from the podium.
