Biden unveils new Gaza truce proposal, Hamas responds positively

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday laid out what he described as a three-phase Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza in return for the release of Israeli hostages, saying "it's time for this war to end" and winning a positive initial reaction from Hamas.

According to Biden, the first phase of the Israeli proposal includes a six-week "complete" ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from populated areas of Gaza, and the release of women, the elderly and the wounded being held hostage in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

At the same time, the Palestinian civilians will return to their homes and neighborhoods in "all areas of Gaza," including in the north, and 600 aid trucks will enter the enclave daily, according to the U.S. president.

During the first phase, the second phase will be discussed, and terms of a permanent end to hostilities will be negotiated. Biden said the six-week ceasefire will last as long as negotiations continue.

In the second phase, all living hostages will be released, and the temporary ceasefire will become permanent, while the third phase will see the return of the bodies of the deceased hostages to their families and the start of a major reconstruction plan in Gaza.

In his remarks on Friday, Biden also noted that the Israeli proposal had been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has authorized the Israeli negotiation team to present an outline for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement by Netanyahu's office on Friday.

The statement was issued following Biden's speech.

"The Israeli government is united in the will to return our hostages as soon as possible and is working to achieve this goal," the Israeli statement said.

It added that "the prime minister authorized the negotiation team to present an outline for achieving this goal while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities."

The statement noted that the outline, including the "conditional transition from phase to phase," allows Israel to "maintain these principles."

On Friday night, Hamas, in response, confirmed its readiness to deal positively and in a constructive manner with any proposal for a permanent ceasefire.

The Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction said in a statement that it held a positive view of Biden's speech while stressing that the truce proposal should be based on the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the reconstruction of the strip, and the return of the displaced to their places, along with the fulfillment of a genuine prisoner swap deal if Israel clearly announces commitment to such deal.

Expanding offensive

The Israeli military confirmed Friday that its forces are operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city, AP reported. 

Israel launched its ground assault into the city on May 6, triggering an exodus of around 1 million Palestinians out of the city and throwing UN humanitarian operations based in the area into turmoil. Still, it has yet to amount to a "major operation" in the eyes of Biden's administration, according to the State Department.

Meanwhile, at least 70 Palestinians were found dead on Friday in northern Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp where Israel had just pulled out its armed forces after a nearly three-week offensive.

Ambulance and civil defense crews primitively retrieved about 70 bodies, including 20 children, from the camp, while search work continued for the missing, according to Xinhua, citing local medical sources.

The sources noted that dozens of others were reported missing under the rubble of homes, shelters and hospitals due to Israeli air and artillery strikes in the operation.

As the Israeli forces withdrew, hundreds of residents returned from shelters to their homes in the camp to check on their properties. Some of them said that the strikes had resulted in heavy damage to hundreds of residential units as well as roads, water supply systems, and sewage infrastructure in the camp and its surroundings, Xinhua reported. 

They accused the Israeli soldiers of setting fire to apartments and residential buildings as a form of "collective punishment and revenge."

The Israeli troops of the 98th Division withdrew after completing their mission in eastern Jabalia and began preparation for continued operations in the Gaza Strip, after "rescuing seven bodies of hostages, eliminating hundreds of terrorists, and destroying a 10-kilometer subterranean tunnel network," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday.

On the same day, the Hamas-run media office in Gaza condemned the Israeli army for adopting a "scorched earth" policy in its attack on the Jabalia camp, which left residential blocks destroyed and numerous Palestinians displaced.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees also said Friday that it has received "horrific reports" from the agency's facilities in Jabalia, where "displaced people, including children, (were) reportedly killed and injured (when) sheltering in our school."

To date, 36,284 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry on Friday.

(With input from agencies)