Israel & Hamas have agreed to US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal's framework, says Biden

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the framework of the US-endorsed ceasefire proposal, said US President Joe Biden.

Last month, Biden had outlined a proposal backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel that sought to end the war in Gaza Strip in three stages. The plan starts with a six-week ceasefire in lieu of return of hostages held in Gaza and release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Biden said while there is still a lot of work to be done on complex issues, Israel and Hamas have agreed to the proposal’s framework.

“Six weeks ago I laid out a comprehensive framework for how to achieve a ceasefire and bring the hostages home. There is still work to do and these are complex issues, but that framework is now agreed to by both Israel and Hamas,” said Biden.

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Six weeks ago I laid out a comprehensive framework for how to achieve a ceasefire and bring the hostages home.

There is still work to do and these are complex issues, but that framework is now agreed to by both Israel and Hamas.

My team is making progress and I'm determined to…

— President Biden Archived (@POTUS46Archive) July 12, 2024

In recent weeks, the talks had picked up pace as the United States had submitted a revised proposal to Hamas . The reports said Hamas had replied positively to the proposal.

As per the proposal, the first phase will include a six-week ceasefire in which women, the elderly, the wounded hostages held by Hamas will be released in lieu of the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli. Displaced Palestinians will also return to their homes as the Israeli military will withdraw from Gaza’s populated areas.

The six weeks of ceasefire will be used for negotiations to reach phase two in which the war will permanently end and all remaining hostages will be released. If the talks last longer than six weeks, then the ceasefire will continue for as long as talks continue.

Then, in the third phase, the reconstruction of the war-ravaged Gaza will start.

The ceasefire is also expected to apply to Israel’s northern border where Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, another Iran-backed anti-Iran terrorist group in the Middle East, are locked in war-like fighting for weeks. Hezbollah had said that Hamas negotiates on behalf of the entire ‘Axil of Resistance’, which is a term for all Iran-backed armed groups in the reason that share Iran’s opposition to the existence to the State of Israel.