UPDATE 2 - 'War has to end now': EU foreign policy chief backs Gaza cease-fire proposal announced by Biden

ADDS REMARKS FROM EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT By Nur Asena Erturk

The EU's foreign policy chief expressed support on Friday for a roadmap to an "enduring ceasefire and the release of hostages" announced by US President Joe Biden.

“All our support to @POTUS Biden roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of hostages leading to a permanent cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of IDF and reconstruction efforts to commence,” Josep Borrell said on X.

“The war has to end now,” he stressed in the post.

In a later post on X following a visit to the White House, Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stressed that "it is our duty to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East."

Noting that he had discussed global issues with Biden, De Croo said: "In the world of today we need strong allies ... Together with the US we will ensure Ukraine prevails.”

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X that she “wholeheartedly” agrees with President Biden “that the latest proposal is a significant opportunity to move towards an end to war and civilian suffering in Gaza.”

She described the plan as “balanced and realistic.”

“It now needs support from all parties,” the head of the commission added.

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

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

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its war nearly eight months ago, mostly women and children, and over 82,000 others injured, according to local health authorities. The Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack killed less than 1,200 people.

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

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.