Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire deal that also ensures the release of hostages, Fox News has confirmed.
President Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, held a press conference Wednesday announcing that the deal would roll out in three phases.
Biden said the first phase will last six weeks and ‘includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded. And I’m proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release and phase one as well. And the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home,’ he said.
In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Biden said, and Palestinians ‘can also return to their neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, and a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza will begin.’
‘During the next six weeks, Israel will negotiate the necessary arrangements to get phase two, which is a permanent end of the war. Let me say that again, a permanent end of the war,’ Biden said. ‘There are a number of details to negotiate the move from phase one to phase two. But the plan says if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the cease-fire will continue as long as the negotiations continue.’
