US working for Gaza cease-fire, hostage deal: Biden

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden pushed Monday for the acceptance of a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

"We are working for a cease-fire and hostage deal that would allow the United States and our partners to begin the work to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza to help repair communities destroyed in the chaos of war,” Biden said on X.

"This deal must get done,” he added.

Earlier, Biden confirmed Israel's "readiness to move forward" with the cease-fire proposal during his call with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

During their conversation, Biden "confirmed that the comprehensive cease-fire and hostage release deal now on the table offers a concrete roadmap for ending the crisis in Gaza," the White House said in a statement.

The proposal, as laid out by Biden last Friday, envisions a three-phase agreement that would culminate with a multi-year process to rebuild the badly-damaged coastal enclave and the return of all hostages, living and dead, held in Gaza.

The first phase would start with a six-week cease-fire, during which a first round of hostages held in Gaza would be released, including women, the elderly and the injured, in exchange for the release of what Biden said would be "hundreds" of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would also withdraw from what a senior Biden administration official called "densely populated areas."

The remains of some of the hostages who have died would also be returned, and Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes and neighborhoods throughout Gaza, including in the north, where Israel has implemented sweeping restrictions. Humanitarian aid deliveries would also scale up dramatically to reach 600 trucks per day, according to Biden.

Negotiators would seek to address outstanding issues during the six-week first phase, including the ratio of Palestinian prisoners that would be freed in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. The proposal includes language allowing the cease-fire to be extended before the second phase begins, as long as talks continue.

The prisoner swap ratio is a critical issue because in the second phase, all living hostages would be freed, including all male Israeli military personnel. Israel's forces would also fully withdraw from Gaza.

The final phase includes the commencement of Gaza's reconstruction, which is estimated to take up to five years, and the return of any additional hostage remains still held in Gaza.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have since been killed in the enclave, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a 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 ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.