Daily Sabah – May 31, 2024
Biden announces new deal to end Israel's Gaza attacks
U.S. President Joe Biden said that Israel had offered a new framework toward permanent peace in Gaza, as he called on Hamas to accept the surprise agreement.
In his first major address outlining a solution to the eight-month conflict, Biden said the proposal started with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.
"It's time for this war to end, for the day after to begin," Biden said in a televised address from the White House, adding that "we can't lose this moment" to seize the chance for peace.
"Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It's a roadmap to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages," he said.
The 81-year-old Democrat put particular pressure on the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
"Hamas needs to take the deal," said Biden, who has supported Israel with military aid since Israel's massacres began.
Biden said the first six-week phase would include a "full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners."
Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate during those six weeks for a lasting cease-fire -- but the truce would continue if the talks remained underway, Biden said.
"As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary cease-fire would become, in the words of the Israeli proposal, the cessation of hostilities permanently," added Biden.
He said that Hamas is "no longer capable" of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire.
Biden addressed the nearly 8-month-old Israel-Hamas war as the Israeli military confirmed on Friday that its forces are now operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding occupation in the southern Gaza city.
Cease-fire talks ground to a halt at the beginning of the month after a major push by the U.S. and other mediators to secure a deal, in hopes of averting a planned Israeli invasion of the southern city of Rafah.
The talks were stymied by a central sticking point: Hamas demands guarantees that the war will end and Israeli troops will withdraw from Gaza completely in return for the release of all the hostages, a demand Israel rejects.
Amid stalled diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire, Hamas said Thursday it had informed mediators it would only agree to a "comprehensive" truce agreement including a hostage-prisoner swap if Israel halts its "aggression."
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/americas/biden-announces-new-deal-to-end-israels-gaza-attacks
Reuters/Daily Sabah – May 31, 2024
Hamas views Biden's deal proposal 'positively'
Palestinian group Hamas on Friday said it had a positive view of the contents of a three-phase ceasefire proposal announced by U.S. President Joe Biden for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
"Hamas confirms its readiness to deal positively and in a constructive manner with any proposal that is based on the permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from the Gaza Strip, the reconstruction [of Gaza], and the return of the displaced to their places, along with the fulfilment of a genuine prisoner swap deal if the occupation clearly announces commitment to such deal," the group said in a statement.
"Hamas sees Biden's position now more focused on pressuring Israel to return to negotiations with a different attitude, or they (Israel) could risk clashing with the Americans," a Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts told Reuters.
Here are the key elements of the "comprehensive" plan
Here are the key elements of the "comprehensive" plan that President Biden called a "roadmap to an enduring cease-fire" after more than eight months of grinding conflict.
Phase One
Biden said the first phase includes a "full and complete cease-fire" lasting six weeks, with Israeli forces withdrawing from "all populated areas of Gaza."
Hamas would release "a number" of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, including women, the elderly and the wounded. The remains of some hostages who had been killed would also be returned.
U.S. hostages held by Hamas would also be freed, Biden said, adding that "we want them home."
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange.
Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their "homes and neighborhoods" throughout Gaza, including in the north, which has been devastated by months of Israeli bombing.
Humanitarian aid would "surge" to 600 trucks a day entering Gaza, while the international community would deliver hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters and housing units.
During the initial six-week period, Israel and Hamas would "negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a permanent end to hostilities."
The cease-fire would also be extended if the negotiations continue.
Phase Two
Israeli forces would completely withdraw from Gaza under the second phase of the plan, lasting around another six weeks.
Hamas would release "all remaining living hostages" including male Israeli soldiers. This has been a key sticking point for Hamas in the past.
If both sides keep to the deal it will lead to the "cessation of hostilities permanently," Biden quoted the Israeli proposal as saying.
Phase Three
A major reconstruction and stabilization plan for Gaza would begin, backed by the U.S. and the international community.
Homes, schools and hospitals would be rebuilt, Biden said. He would also work with regional partners to ensure it happens in a way that "does not allow Hamas to re-arm."
The reconstruction phase would take between three and five years, a senior U.S. official said.
The final remains of any hostages who had been killed would be returned in the third phase.
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/hamas-views-bidens-deal-proposal-positively-statement
Palestinian death toll nears 36,400 as Israel continues to pound Gaza
At least 36,379 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said on Saturday.
A ministry statement added that 82,407 other people have also been injured in the onslaught.
“Israeli attacks killed 95 people and injured 350 others in the last 24 hours,” the statement said.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.
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 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, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.
Israel expands Rafah offensive, saying it now controls Gaza’s entire border with Egypt
Israel’s military said Wednesday it has seized control of the entire length of Gaza’s border with Egypt, without elaborating. Capturing the strategic Philadelphi corridor signals that Israel has deepened its offensive in southern Gaza.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a buffer zone, only about 100m (330ft) wide in parts, which runs along the Gaza side of the 13km (8-mile) border with Egypt. Gaza's only other land border is with Israel itself.
Like Israel, Egypt has maintained a blockade on its border with Gaza since Hamas came to power in 2006.
Palestinians in the border city of Rafah reported heavy fighting Wednesday. Israel previously said it was carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. The United States and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city, saying it would cause a humanitarian catastrophe.
Fighting in Rafah has already spurred more than 1 million Palestinians to flee, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in makeshift tent camps and other war-ravaged areas, where they lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the U.N. says.
Earlier Wednesday, a top Israeli official said the war with Hamas is likely to last through the end of the year. Israel has vowed to expunge the militants from the entire Gaza Strip and has done so by a strategy of systematic destruction, at a huge cost in civilian lives.
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