WASHINGTON − 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 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.
More:Israel's deadly strike on Rafah doesn't appear to cross Biden administration's 'red line'
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
"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 into Gaza every day.
"With the cease-fire, that aid could be safely and effectively distributed to all who needed," 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."
In Phase 2, would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers in exchange for a full Israeli 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.
More:Israel's military says it controls strategic Gaza land border with Egypt
During the six weeks of Phase 1, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to Phase 2 − a permanent end to hostilities.
"There are a number of details to negotiate to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2," Biden said.
The proposal also indicates that if the negotiations take longer than six weeks, 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 of other hostages killed in captivity would be returned to their families.
More:Biden highlights US commitment to Israel, Ukraine in West Point Speech
Hamas said on Thursday it had told mediators it would not take part in more negotiations during ongoing hostilities, but it was ready for a "complete agreement," including an exchange of hostages and prisoners, if Israel stopped the war.
The statement from Hamas came a day after a senior Israeli official said that Israel’s war in Gaza could continue until the end of the year − and amidmounting calls for a ceasefire.
"We may have another seven months of fighting to consolidate our success and achieve what we have defined as the destruction of Hamas's power and military capabilities," Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israeli public radio Wednesday.
Asked by reporters earlier this week for the White House’s reaction to the statement, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. wanted to free the hostages in a deal tied to a ceasefire and a possible end to the conflict. “And that's where President Biden's head is, trying to get this hostage deal done," he said.
Efforts to achieve the release of more than 120 hostages abducted during Hamas' Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel within the framework of a ceasefire deal have so far fallen short. Talks to arrange a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly stalled with both sides blaming the other for the lack of progress.
Israel has now effectively extended its hold over theGaza Strip's entire land borderafter its military said it "established operational control" of a strategically important buffer zone that separates the enclave from Egypt.
The 9-mile-wide corridor was until Wednesday the only Gaza land border that Israel did not directly control. It comes as Israel has deepened its assault on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, killingdozens of Palestinians.
It also follows anIsraeli airstrikeon Sunday that killed at least 45 people in a tent camp near Gaza's southernmost city. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as a "tragic accident."
More:World Central Kitchen pauses Rafah aid work because of Israel's 'ongoing attacks'
But the airstrike took place near where Palestinians fleeing Israel's military have sought shelter in a specially designated "safe" zone. The Biden administration has said the airstrike did not constitute a major ground incursion and that it didn't cross so-called "red lines" that would threaten U.S. support.
The airstrike prompted anoutcry from global leaderswho urged the implementation of anInternational Court of Justiceorderto halt the assault.
On May 8, Biden acknowledgedthe role American bombs had played in civilian deathssince Israel’s war in Gaza began seven months ago − and for the first time said he was prepared to put conditions on American weapons if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahugoes ahead with a major invasion of Rafah.
The Biden administration has paused the shipment of of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombsto Israelover concerns they could be used in a majormilitary operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million refugees have been sheltering.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's Gaza offensive, the enclave's Hamas-run health ministry said.
Israel launched its air and ground war after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard; Reuters;
