US President Biden has announced that Israel and Hamas have reached a “framework” agreement on a ceasefire, using a plan he formulated back in May.
Biden stated in a highly anticipated press conference that this does not mean a ceasefire agreement has been reached, but he insisted that both sides are working to bridge the gaps in their positions on the agreement.
“There is still much work to be done, these are complex issues, but Israel and Hamas have now agreed on this framework,” Biden said on the social media platform X. “My team is making progress and I am determined to complete this work.”
An Israeli official told the Israeli Times yesterday that it may take another two to three weeks to reach an agreement, as there are still significant gaps that need to be reconciled.
A senior government official earlier this week told Fox News that the announcement was supposed to be made on Monday: a few days ago, both sides had reached a consensus on the framework, and the US sent a delegation to the region to finalize the work and prepare for an official ceasefire announcement.
The Israeli negotiating team held meetings this week in Cairo and Doha with US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators.
Biden stated in the press conference that the US has been working for months to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, to bring hostages back home, and to pave the way for peace and stability in the Middle East.
“Six weeks ago, I outlined a detailed (ceasefire) plan in writing. The plan was endorsed by the UN Security Council and the Group of Seven (G7),” Biden continued. “Israel and Hamas have now agreed on this framework, so I sent my team to the region to finalize the details.”
On May 31st, Biden mentioned that Israel had proposed a new offer to release hostages in exchange for a Gaza ceasefire and urged Hamas to agree, calling it the best way to end the conflict.
As negotiations for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas militant group in Gaza wrangled amidst mediation efforts from Egypt, Qatar, and other countries, both sides repeatedly blamed each other for the lack of progress.
Earlier in May, Israel refused to agree to Hamas’ demand to permanently end the war as part of the negotiations, escalating attacks on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, leading to the collapse of the proposed agreement.
Israel’s War Cabinet member Benny Gantz expressed that the version of the proposal agreed upon by Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediation did not align with the dialogues conducted between Israel and mediators so far, indicating significant differences.