Declaring that Hamas was no longer capable of carrying out a major terrorist attack on Israel, President Biden said on Friday it was time for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and endorsed a new plan he said Israel had offered to win the release of hostages and end the fighting.
“It’s time for this war to end, for the day after to begin,” Mr. Biden said, speaking from the State Dining Room at the White House. He also gave a stark description of Hamas’s diminished capabilities after seven months of Israeli attacks: “At this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another Oct. 7.”
Mr. Biden described the plan as a “comprehensive new proposal” that amounted to a road map to an “enduring cease-fire.” But the Israeli government has not talked about the plan in public, and it was not immediately clear how it differed from past proposals — or whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has declared that Israel’s objective is the complete destruction of Hamas, would describe it in similar terms.
“This is truly a decisive moment,” Mr. Biden said. “Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.”
At several moments in the past few months, Mr. Netanyahu has directly contradicted Mr. Biden. And so far Hamas has never accepted a proposal, declaring that fighting must end first, before major hostage releases or any agreement with Israel.
Mr. Biden has faced growing pressure over how long he was willing to support Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and particularly its most recent attacks in Rafah. The bloodshed in Gaza, with more than 36,000 dead, has led to eruptions on college campuses and on the streets of American cities, and alienated many of Mr. Bidens own supporters.
Israel’s national security adviser said earlier this week that he expected the war to continue through at least the end of the year.
Global pressure to scale down the military operation only increased after the International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, last week ruled that Israel must halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The court, however, had no means of enforcing the order.
Friday’s remarks were Mr. Biden’s first public comments about the war since an Israeli strike and subsequent fire on Sunday killed 45 people, including children, and wounded 249 in a encampment for the displaced, according to Gazan health officials. A visual analysis by The New York Times found that Israel used U.S.-made bombs in the strike, forcing the White House to face difficult questions over American responsibility for rising death toll.
In describing the Israeli proposal, Mr. Biden said it would be broken into three phases, starting with a six-week cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza and an exchange of elderly and women hostages held by Hamas for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees. But Mr. Biden also said there were still details that still needed to be negotiated to move on to the next phase.
Israeli forces would then withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers.
“As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary cease-fire will become in the words of the Israeli proposal, a cessation of hostilities permanently,” Mr. Biden said.
“It’s time for this war to end, for the day after to begin,” Mr. Biden said, speaking from the State Dining Room at the White House. He also gave a stark description of Hamas’s diminished capabilities after seven months of Israeli attacks: “At this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another Oct. 7.”
Mr. Biden described the plan as a “comprehensive new proposal” that amounted to a road map to an “enduring cease-fire.” But the Israeli government has not talked about the plan in public, and it was not immediately clear how it differed from past proposals — or whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has declared that Israel’s objective is the complete destruction of Hamas, would describe it in similar terms.
“This is truly a decisive moment,” Mr. Biden said. “Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.”
At several moments in the past few months, Mr. Netanyahu has directly contradicted Mr. Biden. And so far Hamas has never accepted a proposal, declaring that fighting must end first, before major hostage releases or any agreement with Israel.
Mr. Biden has faced growing pressure over how long he was willing to support Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and particularly its most recent attacks in Rafah. The bloodshed in Gaza, with more than 36,000 dead, has led to eruptions on college campuses and on the streets of American cities, and alienated many of Mr. Bidens own supporters.
Israel’s national security adviser said earlier this week that he expected the war to continue through at least the end of the year.
Global pressure to scale down the military operation only increased after the International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, last week ruled that Israel must halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The court, however, had no means of enforcing the order.
Friday’s remarks were Mr. Biden’s first public comments about the war since an Israeli strike and subsequent fire on Sunday killed 45 people, including children, and wounded 249 in a encampment for the displaced, according to Gazan health officials. A visual analysis by The New York Times found that Israel used U.S.-made bombs in the strike, forcing the White House to face difficult questions over American responsibility for rising death toll.
In describing the Israeli proposal, Mr. Biden said it would be broken into three phases, starting with a six-week cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza and an exchange of elderly and women hostages held by Hamas for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees. But Mr. Biden also said there were still details that still needed to be negotiated to move on to the next phase.
Israeli forces would then withdraw from Gaza in exchange for the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers.
“As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary cease-fire will become in the words of the Israeli proposal, a cessation of hostilities permanently,” Mr. Biden said.
