Author: Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire and hostage deal that would end fighting in Gaza, adding that it was achieved by working together with the new administration of Donald Trump.
“I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said at the White House. The agreement was reached after 15 months of suffering, he said, and will be followed by a wave of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
“The fighting in Gaza will stop, and the hostages will soon return home to their families,” Biden said.
The deal was reached after months of negotiations by the Biden administration, Biden said as he thanked his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and other officials.
However, its terms will mostly be enforced by the new Trump administration, Biden said.
“For the past few days, we have been talking as a team,” he said.
Asked by reporters whether he or Trump deserved more credit for getting the deal done, Biden quipped, “Is that a joke?”
Trump said in a statement on social media that the deal would not have happened if he had not been elected.
“This EPIC cease-fire agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November, because it signaled to the world that my administration will seek peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies,” he wrote. .
Biden did not provide details beyond the broad outlines of the deal that are already known, but indicated that he thinks it could lay the groundwork for an independent Palestinian state.
“For the Palestinian people, a credible, credible path to their own state. And for the region, a future of normalization, integration of Israel and all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia,” he said.
In a separate statement, the White House quoted Biden as saying: “Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire and hostages. This agreement will end the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite hostages with their families after more than 15 months of captivity.”
