The United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Israel had offered Hamas a three-phase cease-fire and hostage-release deal, stressing that it was time to end the fighting in Gaza and that Hamas was “no longer capable” of carrying out another major attack on Israel.
Speaking at the White House, the Democratic president said the first phase would last six weeks and would include a “complete and comprehensive cease-fire,” including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza. In return, Palestinian fighters would release numerous hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded. Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
In the second phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza, and it would include the release of all remaining hostages alive, including soldiers, Biden said.
Israeli forces are expanding their offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, once the main hub of humanitarian aid operations. The Israeli invasion has drastically cut off the flow of food, medicine and other necessities to Palestinians who are facing widespread hunger. Israel is facing mounting international criticism for its strategy of systematic destruction in Gaza – at a heavy cost to civilian lives – in its nearly eight-month war against Hamas, the AP reports.
