Israel Hamas War Ceasefire Proposal Joe Biden Hostilities Humanitarian Aid

US President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a new three-phase Israeli proposal to end the war in Gaza which includes ceasefire, surge in humanitarian aid and a permanent cessation of hostilities. The proposal would begin with a six-week ceasefire under which the Israel Defence Forces would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza. 

There would also be a “surge” of humanitarian aid as well as exchange of some hostages for Palestinian prisoners, as per a BBC report. 

Under the deal, a permanent “cessation of hostilities” and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza is also on the cards, said the US President. 

Palestinian militant group, Hamas said that it views the proposal “positively”.

The first phase of the proposed plan would include a “full and complete ceasefire”, with withdrawal of IDF troops from populated areas and the exchange of hostages of Palestinian prisoners, Biden said on a Friday at the White House. 

“This is truly a decisive moment,” he said. “Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.”

The ceasefire would allow “600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every single day”, thus increasing humanitarian aid to reach the coastal strip.

In the second phase,  all remaining living hostages returned including male soldiers. The ceasefire would then become “the cessation of hostilities, permanently,” BBC reported.