The White House said Tuesday that a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is the "best chance" to stop hostilities in the Palestinian enclave.
"This deal, what's on the table right now, is the best chance to get all the hostages out and to get a path to permanent cessation of hostilities," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
"Coming out of phase two, Hamas will accept the deal. And as you get that, then you can talk about really advancing a vision for post-war Gaza and what that needs to look like," he said. "And if you can get that, then you can really start to get some momentum towards other goals we have in the region like normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia and of course, all of that can help build to an eventual two-state solution which the president believes, unlike some people, he believes that it still is best achieved through direct negotiations between the parties."
The spokesperson reiterated that the U.S. will continue to support Israel in its efforts to eliminate the threat by Hamas.
"We're going to continue to work with the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) and the War Cabinet to try to get this over the finish line. A proposal, I would add that was an Israeli proposal that they crafted after some diplomatic conversations with us, and which they've acknowledged is their proposal," he added.
Kirby said. "It was a big effort by Israel to put this proposal on the table. We're grateful for that good faith effort. Now, Hamas needs to accept it."
The proposal, as laid out by Biden last Friday, envisions a three-phase agreement that would culminate with a multi-year process to rebuild the badly damaged coastal enclave and the return of all hostages, living and dead, held in Gaza.
The first phase would start with a six-week cease-fire, during which a first round of hostages held in Gaza would be released, including women, the elderly and the injured, in exchange for the release of what Biden said would be "hundreds" of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would also withdraw from what a senior Biden administration official called "densely populated areas."
The remains of some hostages who have died would also be returned, and Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes and neighborhoods throughout Gaza, including the north, where Israel has implemented sweeping restrictions. Humanitarian aid deliveries would also scale up dramatically to reach 600 trucks per day, according to Biden.
Negotiators would seek to address outstanding issues during the six-week first phase, including the ratio of Palestinian prisoners that would be freed in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. The proposal includes language allowing the cease-fire to be extended before the second phase begins, as long as talks continue.
The prisoner swap ratio is a critical issue because in the second phase, all living hostages would be freed, including all male Israeli military personnel. Israel's forces would also fully withdraw from Gaza.
The final phase includes the commencement of Gaza's reconstruction, which is estimated to take up to five years, and the return of any additional remains of hostages held in Gaza.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,400 Palestinians have since been killed in the enclave, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
