Biden: Israel offers 'comprehensive' new ceasefire deal

US President Joe Biden says that Israel has offered a "roadmap" to end its nearly eight-month war genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

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.

"Here's what it would include: a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for (the) release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners," he stated.

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.

"It's time for this war to end, for the day after to begin," he said, adding: "We can't lose this moment" to seize the chance for peace.

Hamas welcomes Biden's speech

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.”

‘Israel using truce talks to press ahead with aggression’

Earlier, the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas said that the Israeli regime was deliberately prolonging ceasefire negotiations to keep up its genocidal war against the Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniyeh said Israel was "using negotiations as a cover to continue its aggression.”

He added that “the resistance factions do not accept to be part of these maneuvers.”

The regime launched the war against Gaza last October in response to Al-Aqsa Storm, a retaliatory operation staged by the Palestinian territory’s resistance movements.

The Israeli military onslaught has killed at least 36,224 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Egypt and Qatar have been mediating negotiations aimed at conclusion of a ceasefire agreement following one in November, during which Hamas released 105 of the captives that had seized during Al-Aqsa Storm.

In early May, Hamas agreed to another truce proposal enabling cessation of the Israeli aggression and release of the rest of the captives.

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