President Joe Biden said Israel has offered a "comprehensive new proposal" to ensure an enduring cease--fire and the release of all hostages after months of failed negotiations, the USA Today website reported on May 31, 2024.
The new proposal is "one that brings all the hostages home, ensures Israel's security, creates a better day after in Gaza without Hamas in power, and sets the stage for political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike," Biden said.
The proposal, which has three phases, has been relayed by Qatar to Hamas, he said.
The first phase would last six weeks, and includes "a full and complete cease--fire and withdrawal" of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
"There are American hostages who would be released at this stage, and we want them home," Biden said. Remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families, bringing some degree of closure to that terrible grief.
In the first phase, humanitarian assistance would surge, with 600 trucks carrying aid to Gaza every day.
"With the cease--fire, that aid would be safely and effectively distributed to all who need irt," the president said. "Hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters, including housing units, would be delivered by the international community. All that and more would begin immediately.
Phase 2 would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers in exchange for a full I sraeli withdrawal from Gaza. As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, the temporary cease--fire would become "the cessation of hostilities permanently," Biden said.
The proposal also indicates that if the negotiations take longer than six weks , the cease--fire would continue as long as negotiations do.
Phase 3 would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza, and the bodies of any other hostages killed in captivity would be returned to their families.
Hamas said on May 30 it had told mediators it would not take part in more negotiations durinf ongoing hostilities, but it was ready for a "complete agreement," including an exchange of hostages and prisoners, if Israel stopped the war.
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