U.S. President Joe Biden said that Israel had offered a new framework toward permanent peace in Gaza, as he called on Hamas to accept the surprise agreement.
In his first major address outlining a solution to the eight-month conflict, Biden said the proposal started with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.
"It's time for this war to end, for the day after to begin," Biden said in a televised address from the White House, adding that "we can't lose this moment" to seize the chance for peace.
"Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It's a roadmap to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages," he said.
The 81-year-old Democrat put particular pressure on the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
"Hamas needs to take the deal," said Biden, who has supported Israel with military aid since Israel's massacres began.
Biden said the first six-week phase would include a "full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners."
Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate during those six weeks for a lasting cease-fire -- but the truce would continue if the talks remained underway, Biden said.
"As long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary cease-fire would become, in the words of the Israeli proposal, the cessation of hostilities permanently," added Biden.
He said that Hamas is "no longer capable" of carrying out another large-scale attack on Israel as he urged Israelis and Hamas to come to a deal to release remaining hostages for an extended cease-fire.
Biden addressed the nearly 8-month-old Israel-Hamas war as the Israeli military confirmed on Friday that its forces are now operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding occupation in the southern Gaza city.
Cease-fire talks ground to a halt at the beginning of the month after a major push by the U.S. and other mediators to secure a deal, in hopes of averting a planned Israeli invasion of the southern city of Rafah.
The talks were stymied by a central sticking point: Hamas demands guarantees that the war will end and Israeli troops will withdraw from Gaza completely in return for the release of all the hostages, a demand Israel rejects.
Amid stalled diplomatic efforts for a cease-fire, Hamas said Thursday it had informed mediators it would only agree to a "comprehensive" truce agreement including a hostage-prisoner swap if Israel halts its "aggression."
