Biden Pressures Hamas to Agree to Accept Israel’s Gaza Ceasefire Deal

President Biden urged Hamas to accept an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, including phased withdrawal, hostage exchanges, and eventual permanent peace and reconstruction.

Hamas is challenged to accept the new three-part plan proposed by Israel’s government to restore the peace in Gaza, as requested by President Joe Biden. In his remarks to the press at the White House on Friday, Biden said “It is time for this war to end and called on Hamas to demonstrate it wants a ceasefire by accepting the deal.

The Israeli proposal entails a six-week truce during which Israeli troops pull out of inhabited areas of Gaza. This first phase would also involve a ‘swelling’ of humanitarian supplies to the territory and prisoners’ swap of Palestinians detained in Israel.

Should the second phase be put into practice, the fighting parties would sign the permanent “ceasefire” document and release the remaining Israeli prisoners of war, if any. The last considers the need for a massive reconstruction of the Gaza Strip with the support of the United States and the international community.

Biden and Netanyahu also expressed understanding that the proposal will not be supported, at least in the near term, including by some Israeli governments. Still, Biden voiced confidence that he has asked the leadership in Israel to back this deal no matter what pressure they receive.

Hamas said that it looks at the proposal ‘positively’ owing to the mention of a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal, reconstruction, and prisoner exchange – so long as Israel affixes its signature to a permanent ceasefire.

The move is to be undertaken as the US continues to be under pressure over the killings of innocent people in Gaza. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, approved Biden’s decision and stated that all parties should “use this opportunity for a ceasefire” and strive for a “sustainable peace in the Middle East.

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The death toll of Palestinians has exceeded 36,000 since the beginning of the war in October according to the Gaza Strip’s health ministry affiliated to Hamas. Hamas gunmen attacked targets in Israel killed approximately 1,200 people and kidnapped 252 hostages.