Biden Supports Israel's New Ceasefire Proposal in Gaza
President of the United States, Joe Biden, declared that Israel has offered a new "comprehensive" agreement within the framework of negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, reports BILD.
"It is time to end this war. A number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, must be released. In exchange, Israel wants to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from its prisons," added Biden.
More than 130 people captured during Israel's invasion on October 7 last year remain in captivity by the militants.
During the six-week truce, Israeli and Hamas representatives should negotiate a permanent ceasefire. The Israeli side notes that if Hamas respects the agreements, this should lead to a "permanent ceasefire of hostilities" and the "withdrawal of Israeli troops from all population centres in the Gaza Strip."
The President of the USA described Israel's new proposal as "a roadmap for a lasting ceasefire and the release of all hostages" and declared that Hamas "must accept this agreement." According to the AFP news agency, Hamas described the plan as "positive."
"The Israeli proposal, which American President Biden has confirmed, has been a ray of hope and could show the way towards exiting the stalemate in which the war finds itself," declared the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Berbock.
She said that the Hamas group must now demonstrate that it wants to end the conflict.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he has authorised his negotiation team to present the agreement, "insisting at the same time that the war will not end until all his objectives are met, including the return of all our hostages and the destruction of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities."
Separately, the Israeli army declared that its forces have ended operations in the Jabalia area in the northern Gaza Strip after days of intense fighting, while probing further into Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, to target what they say is the last major Hamas stronghold.
The conflict started on October 7, when armed men led by the Palestinian Islamist group stormed southern Israel on motorcycles, paragliders, and four-wheel-drive vehicles, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping over 250, according to an Israeli report.
Israel then invaded the Gaza Strip in what Netanyahu called an effort to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that took control of the area from the Palestinian faction Fatah in a violent fight in 2007.
Discussions mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and others to arrange a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly entered a stalemate, with each side accusing the other of the lack of progress.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
