U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday from the White House that Israel and Hamas have reached a cease-fire and hostage deal that will end the fighting in Gaza and "surge humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians."
"I can announce a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas," Biden said at the White House. The deal was reached after 15 months of suffering, he said, and will be followed by a surge of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
נשיא ארה"ב, ג'ו ביידן במסיבת עיתונאים PResident Joe Biden announces the cease-fire deal from the White House
(Video: MofaQatar_AR)
"Fighting in Gaza will stop, and soon the hostages return home to their families," Biden said.
"I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council. It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran — but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy. My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done," he said.
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President Joe Biden announces the cease-fire and hostage return deal from the White House
(Photo: Ken Cedeno/Reuters)
"Even as we welcome this news, we remember all the families whose loved ones were killed in Hamas’s October 7th attack, and the many innocent people killed in the war that followed. It is long past time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin," Biden also said.
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When asked how much credit Trump's team should get for this deal, given Trump has already claimed credit, Biden said "This is the exact framework of the deal I proposed back in May. Exact. And, we got the world to endorse it."
In a nod to and a dig at the incoming Trump administration, Biden said: "This deal would have to be implemented by the next team. So, I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice because that's what American presidents do."
Vice President Kamala Harris praised Biden's leadership in arriving at a deal, as well as the U.S. officials "whose diligent diplomacy allowed us to arrive at this significant moment."
"Doug and I pray for all the hostages, and we are grateful that some, including Americans, will soon be reunited with their loved ones. In my meetings with the families of American hostages, I vowed they will never be in this fight alone. President Biden and I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans, and are determined that all the American hostages be returned home as part of this deal," Harris said in a statement released Wednesday evening.
"We will never forget the lives taken as a result of the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, and the horrors endured by countless innocent people in the war that followed. In my many conversations with leaders in the region, my unwavering focus has been to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination," she added.