United States President Biden announced that Israel and Hamas have reached a “framework” agreement on a ceasefire, adopting a plan he formulated in May. Biden emphasized during a highly anticipated press conference that this does not mean a ceasefire agreement has been reached, but he insists both sides are working to bridge their differences regarding the agreement.
“There is still a lot of work to be done as 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 see this through.”
An Israeli official told the Israel Times yesterday that it will take another two to three weeks for the two sides to reach an agreement, indicating there is still significant ground to cover.
A senior government official earlier this week told Fox News that the announcement should have been made on Monday. A few days ago, the two sides reached a consensus on the framework, prompting the United States to dispatch a delegation to the region to finalize the work and prepare for an official ceasefire announcement.
This week, the Israeli negotiating team held meetings in Cairo and Doha with US, Egypt, and Qatar mediators.
During the press conference, Biden stated that the US has been working for months to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza, facilitating the return of hostages and paving the way for peace and stability in the Middle East.
“Six weeks ago, I drafted a detailed ceasefire plan in writing. This plan was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council and the Group of Seven (G7),” Biden continued. “Both Israel and Hamas have now agreed on this framework, so I sent my team to the region to finalize the details.”
Previously on May 31, Biden revealed that Israel had put forward a new proposal to release hostages in exchange for a Gaza ceasefire, urging Hamas to agree, deeming it the best way to end the conflict.
As mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and other countries continue, negotiations between Israel and the Hamas militant group on a Gaza ceasefire have repeatedly hit a stalemate, with both sides blaming each other for the lack of progress.
Earlier in May, Israel rejected Hamas’s demand to permanently end the war as part of the negotiations, intensifying attacks on the southern Rafah city in Gaza, leading to the breakdown of the proposed agreement.
Israel’s wartime cabinet member Benny Gantz expressed discrepancies with the proposal version accepted by Hamas, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, stating it “differs significantly from the dialogues held with Israel until now and the mediators, with major gaps.”