What does the new ceasefire agreement proposed by Israel, which Joe Biden has echoed, contain?

According to the American president, the road map pushed by the Jewish state must be accepted by “all those who want peace”.

Towards a way out of the conflict ravaging the Gaza Strip? The American President Joe Biden said Friday, May 31, during a press conference, that Israel had proposed a new agreement “overall” ceasefire to Hamas, against whom the Jewish state has been waging a bloody war for nearly eight months.

For the White House, the belligerents must under no circumstances “Give Way” the opportunity to accept this ceasefire protocol, which has three phases. Here is what it contains, according to information provided by Washington.

First phase: withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza for six weeks

There “roadmap” relayed by Joe Biden begins with “a total and complete ceasefire“, he said. This would include the withdrawal of Israeli forces “from all populated areas of Gaza”as well as “the release of a number of hostages, including women, elderly people and the injured”in exchange for the release of “hundreds of Palestinian prisoners”.

If this ceasefire was respected, according to Joe Biden it would allow the return of the bodies of the dead hostages, but also the return home of Palestinian civilians “from all areas of Gaza, including the north”he assured. “Humanitarian aid would increase” moreover to reach up to 600 trucks per day, assures the American president, and could be distributed in a manner “more efficient” to populations housed in “hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters” what the international community would then provide.

Second phase: the release of the hostages and the “permanent” cessation of hostilities

In a timetable which remains to be defined, according to the American president, a “real exchange” must then be organized. This includes the release of the remaining living hostages, “including male soldiers”, he said, which should coincide with a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The exchanges organized at the end of November, during the truce negotiated between Israel and Hamas, would thus resume.

Citing the “Israeli proposal”Joe Biden maintains that these gestures will transform the temporary ceasefire into a “permanent cessation of hostilities”.

According to the American leader, Israel “must no longer fear for his safety” because the seven months of war allowed the elimination of a sufficiently large number of Hamas fighters. “At this stage, Hamas is no longer in a position to organize another October 7”he assured, before urging the Israeli government to stay this course. “An unlimited war, waged in pursuit of an unidentified total victory (…), will only bog down Israel and Gaza”did he declare.

Third phase: reconstruction of the Gaza Strip

“With this deal, the reconstruction of Gaza can begin”, continued Joe Biden. On one condition, however: that this work and the aid provided do not allow Hamas “to resume its activities”, he clarified. While a major part of the Palestinian enclave is uninhabitable, and the UN deplored the living conditions on Friday “apocalyptic” in the south of the territory, this project promises to be Herculean.

According to Joe Biden, reconstruction will thus have to mobilize “L“Arab nations, the international community as well as Israeli and Palestinian leaders”. After the restoration of roads, hospitals and homes, “the question of self-determination” could arise, says the President of the United States, who promise to remain Israel’s military partners.

After declaring that this Israeli proposal had been transmitted to Hamas through Qatar, Joe Biden called on the various parties to accept this protocol. “All those who want peace now must raise their voices and work to make this peace a reality. It is time for this war to end.”, he urged. Shortly after this speech on Friday, Israel warned that its war “will not cease” without the annihilation of Hamas forces. For its part, the Palestinian Islamist organization indicated that it considered the proposal relayed by Joe Biden “positive”.