Biden announced in a speech from the White House on Friday that Israel's three-stage offer would begin with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza.
According to Biden, the offer includes a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, and release of a number of captives, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for (the) release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Biden’s speech came after US Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken acknowledged that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory remained "dire."
The US president called on Hamas to accept the ceasefire offer.
The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas said in a statement that it “views positively the contents of President Joe Biden's speech today, 31/05/2024, in which he called for a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, and the exchange of prisoners.”
“We consider this American position and the reinforced conviction on the regional and international stage of the necessity to put an end to the war on Gaza to be the result of the legendary steadfastness of our struggling people and their brave resistance,” it added.
Hamas “reaffirms its readiness to engage positively and constructively with any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, the return of displaced persons to all their homes, and a serious prisoner exchange deal, provided the occupation declares its explicit commitment to this.”
MP/PressTV