German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomes the proposal that US President Joe Biden presented as an Israeli offer for a phased hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas that would end the war in Gaza.
The Israeli offer “provides a glimpse of hope and a possible path out of the war’s deadlock,” Baerbock writes on X, formerly Twitter.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also expresses support for the proposal.
“I wholeheartedly agree with Biden that the latest proposal is a significant opportunity to move toward an end to war and civilian suffering in Gaza. This three-step approach is balanced and realistic. It now needs support from all parties,” the European Commission president says on social media.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron calls on Hamas to accept an Israeli hostage deal proposal laid out by US President Joe Biden this evening.
“With a new hostage agreement on the table, Hamas must accept this deal so we can see a stop in the fighting, the hostages released and returned to their families and a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he writes in a post on X.
He adds that an extended ceasefire can be “turned into a permanent peace” if all parties are “prepared to take the right steps.”
“Let’s seize this moment and bring this conflict to an end.”
The Israeli proposal was submitted on Thursday to Hamas via Qatar, Biden revealed, saying the offer would “bring all the hostages home, ensure Israel’s security, create a better day after in Gaza without Hamas in power, and set the stage for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Biden laid out the details of three phases, with particular emphasis on the first six-week phase, which was largely similar to the framework that was discussed in previous rounds of negotiations but included new conditions detailed by the president for the first time.
Several times during the speech in the State Dining Room of the White House, Biden put the ball in Hamas’s court, urging it to accept the type of ceasefire that its leaders and supporters have repeatedly called for.
While he described the latest proposal as one crafted by Israel, and thus presumably approved by the narrow war cabinet, he evidently recognized that this was not the final say from Jerusalem and urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s full government to stand behind the offer its negotiators submitted indirectly to Hamas.
[…] The first phase of the deal would include a complete ceasefire; the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza; the release of a number of female, elderly and sick hostages by Hamas; and the release of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners by Israel, Biden said, noting that American hostages would be among those released in this first stage.
Additionally, a number of bodies of deceased hostages would also be released, Biden said, revealing for the first time that Israel had moved from its previous demand not to accept any bodies during this “humanitarian” phase of the hostage deal.
During negotiations in recent weeks, Israel demanded the release of 33 female, elderly and wounded hostages who are still alive in Gaza. Hamas claimed that it did not have that many living hostages in those categories. Israel demanded that Hamas release living hostages from other categories if that were the case. But the terror group refused, saying it would only be willing to release additional bodies to make up for the discrepancy.
Further detailing the first phase, Biden said that Palestinians would be allowed to return to their homes and neighborhoods throughout Gaza, including in the north. Israel in earlier rounds of negotiations had pushed back on the unrestricted return of Palestinians, particularly to the north, fearing it would lead to Hamas regrouping. In the last round of indirect contacts, though, Israel reportedly let go of this demand as well.
One thought on “Breaking: Israel offers cease-fire deal via Biden, who urges HamaSS to accept it; UK, German FMs, and EU Chief welcome the deal offer”
I hope Hamass does not accept this offer. It’s way too generous to them. Israel needs to start getting serious about killing Hamass fighters and not handing them back.
Spin, strangeness, and charm 
I hope Hamass does not accept this offer. It’s way too generous to them. Israel needs to start getting serious about killing Hamass fighters and not handing them back.