Withdrawal of Israeli troops, release of hostages… What the ceasefire proposal carried by the United States in Gaza contains

“We support the United States’ proposal for a comprehensive agreement,” President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron wrote on Saturday on ceasefire with Hamas.

“The war in Gaza must end. We support the United States’ proposed comprehensive agreement. Just as we work with our partners in the region on peace and security for all. The release of the hostages, a ceasefire lasting fire to work for peace and move forward on the two-state solution,” wrote the head of state.

What Joe Biden’s proposal contains

This roadmap unveiled on Friday May 31, 2024 by the American president aims to achieve, in stages and under conditions, a permanent ceasefire almost eight months after the start of the war, triggered on October 7 by the bloody attack launched by Hamas against Israel. “It is time for this war to end,” Joe Biden said on Friday from the White House, calling on Hamas to accept the Israeli plan which was submitted to it through Qatar.

“We cannot let this opportunity pass,” he added. The first phase, Joe Biden said, would be a ceasefire with a withdrawal of Israeli troops from “inhabited areas of Gaza” for a period of six weeks. The end of the fighting, according to him, would be accompanied by the release of certain Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7 in Israel, in particular women and the sick, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Attacks on Rafah continue

“Hamas views positively what was included today in US President Joe Biden’s speech regarding a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, reconstruction and the exchange of prisoners,” Hamas said. indicated the movement. “Israel’s conditions for stopping the war have not changed,” Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday, citing “the destruction of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, the release of all hostages and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.

The political leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, for his part reiterated on Friday that the movement’s “demands”, starting with a permanent ceasefire and a total withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip, were not ” not negotiable.

Israel’s military movements have been increasingly contested by the international community in recent weeks, following the bombings and ground operations carried out on the city of Rafah. The latter, where hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents who fled the north of the enclave took refuge, was the only place spared from the fighting until recently. On the night of Sunday May 26 to Monday May 27, an Israeli strike on a refugee camp left at least 45 dead. A “tragic incident” responded Benjamin Netanyahu, after strong condemnations from the international community.