EU Council head welcomes US president's Gaza cease-fire proposal

By Gozde Bayar

The European Council president on Saturday welcomed the roadmap for a cease-fire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip announced by US President Joe Biden.

“I welcome the new proposal for a temporary ceasefire in #Gaza, hostage releases and humanitarian aid just made by @POTUS (US President Joe Biden),” Charles Michel said on X.

Michel said it is crucial that this opens space for talks on a long-term solution, notably a permanent cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of Israeli forces, as well as Gaza reconstruction.

He said he is “grateful” for the US efforts in cooperation with key partners, notably Qatar and Egypt.

“The suffering must stop,” he said, calling on all parties to seize this opportunity for peace.

Biden said earlier that Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, with a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

The US president appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stave off pressure from members of his governing coalition who are opposed to the plan.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people.

Around 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.