Biden marks ‘decisive moment’ as Israel offers roadmap for Gaza cease-fire

Ellen Mitchell
·5-min read

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter

{beacon}

The Big Story 

President Biden announced the terms of an Israeli-led proposal Friday that includes a three-part roadmap toward an end to fighting and the release of all remaining hostages taken Oct. 7, giving the strongest indication yet for a potential end to the war between Israel and Hamas.

© Evan Vucci, Associated Press

“After intensive diplomacy carried out by my team, my many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar and Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. It’s a roadmap to an enduring cease-fire and the release of all hostages,” Biden said. 

 

He said that while the proposal has been transmitted to Hamas via Qatar, he indicated the U.S.-designated terrorist organization that runs the Gaza Strip had not yet formally accepted the plan.

 

“This is truly a decisive moment. Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a cease-fire. This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it. Hamas needs to take the deal,” Biden said.

 

Biden also pleaded from the White House podium for Israelis to back the deal, arguing the military has devastated Hamas since the war began in way in which Oct. 7 cannot be repeated.

 

While adding he knows there are Israelis who may not agree with the negotiated deal, he warned against allowing for an indefinite war.

 

“I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely. Some are even in the government coalition. They’ve made it clear they want to occupy Gaza, they want to keep fighting for years, the hostages are not a priority for them,” he said. “I urge Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes.”

 

When questioned if Biden meant that Israel has effectively won the war against Hamas, senior administration officials on a call with reporters after Biden spoke said Israel has had success in “degrading Hamas’ military capacity.” The official added that the offer wouldn’t have been possible three months ago.

 

Biden laid out the proposal in three phases: An initial phase would include a six-week cease-fire, then a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, and the release of all remaining hostages taken from Israel on Oct. 7. It also includes parameters for internally displaced Palestinians to return to their homes and reconstruction efforts of the devastated coastal enclave.

 

According to the arrangement, each of the three phases would be about 42 days long, a senior administration official outlined.

 

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads 

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:

Bipartisan leaders officially invite Netanyahu to address Congress

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially been invited to deliver an address to Congress, according to a letter obtained by The Hill. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday sent Netanyahu a formal invitation to speak during a joint meeting of Congress.

 Full Story

I'm an image

Democrats say Biden caved on ‘red line’ warning in Rafah

Liberal Democrats are going after President Biden for his approach to Israel’s incursion into Rafah, accusing the president of caving on his “red line” warning to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to storm into the city for fear of outsize civilian casualties.

 Full Story

I'm an image

Retired four-star admiral charged with accepting bribes for contracts

A former U.S. Navy vice chief of naval operations was arrested Friday on charges that he accepted bribes to steer government contracts to a company in exchange for a future job while still in service, Justice Department (DOJ) officials announced in a statement. Retired Navy Adm. Robert Burke, 62, of Coconut Creek, Fla., and two business executives, Yongchul “Charlie” Kim and Meghan Messenger, both of New York, were each charged …

 Full Story

I'm an image

On Our Radar 

Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat: 

  • Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Cambodia over the weekend for meetings with senior officials.

  • The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a conversation with U.S. Army Futures Command head Gen. James Rainey on Army modernization efforts, future investment priorities and the development of the Army’s next warfighting concept Monday at 2 p.m.

In Other News 

Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

‘Uncommitted’ movement: Biden’s Israel road map ‘will likely fall flat’

The national “uncommitted” campaign pushing for protest votes against President Biden in the White House race says his endorsement of a new Israeli proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza is a “welcome development” but “will likely fall flat.”

Full Story

On Tap Monday 

Events in and around the defense world: 

  • The Wilson Center will hold its China fellowship conference at 9 a.m.

  • The Center for American Progress will discuss U.S. policy for the Israeli-Palestinian security and peace with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) at 12 p.m.

What We’re Reading 

News we’ve flagged from other outlets:

  • Russia and Ukraine exchange POWs for the first time in months. Bodies of fallen are also swapped (The Associated Press)

  • Anguish, uncertainty: 66 families wait to bury loved ones amid suspension of horse-drawn funeral services at Arlington (Military.com)

Trending Today 

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

I'm an image

Ivanka Trump breaks silence after guilty verdict

Ivanka Trump is speaking out publicly for the first time since her father, former President Trump, was found guilty of all 34 counts in his hush money … Read more

I'm an image

Internet providers agree to continue discounted plans through end of 2024 as federal subsidies end

More than a dozen internet service providers have agreed to continue offering discounted internet plans to low-income households through the end of … Read more

Opinions in The Hill 

Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:

You’re all caught up. See you next week! 

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • The world must prepare for President Michelle Obama

    The 2024 US Presidential race intensifies. Speculation abounds over potential replacements for President Joe Biden amid increasing pressure from his party and the media to step aside after a jaw-dropping, catastrophic debate against Donald Trump last week. Among the names circulating, a game-changer is emerging: Michelle Obama. Could this be America’s worst nightmare?

  • Conservatives Routed in Worst Election Result for 200 Years

    LONDON—The Conservatives, the world’s winningest political party, were booted out of power in dramatic style on Thursday after 14 years of chaotic and divisive rule.The Labour Party had secured a landslide victory, ending an era of Conservative rule over Britain that stretches back to 2010; the year that the iPad and Instagram were launched and Lady Gaga wore that meat dress to the MTV music awards.In that time, the Conservatives have cycled through five leaders, each of them dragging the party

  • Embattled Biden makes latest gaffe saying he’s the ‘first Black woman to serve with a Black president’

    President’s July 4 blunder comes as he desperately tries to claw back confidence among voters and party members after last week’s debate flop

  • Putrajaya submits diplomatic protest note to UN rejecting Manila’s bid to reclaim Sabah after Paris court rule

    Malaysia submits diplomatic note to UN Secretary-General António Guterres rejecting the Philippines’ claim to Sabah r...

  • How Obama mentored the new UK prime minister to help him tell his story

    The leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer, has been mentored by Barack Obama. The relationship is likely to continue if Starmer wins the UK election.

  • Beijing is laughing at the West’s weakness

    Russian aggression in Ukraine poses a threat to world peace and stability. China provides material support for Russia’s actions. All this is entirely clear. In Beijing, immediately after a meeting with Xi Jinping in April this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support”. This included selling huge quantities of machine tools and micro-electronics that would be used in the Russian defence industry.

  • Van Jones Reveals ‘Behind The Scenes’ Moves That Could End Biden Campaign

    The CNN commentator detailed the “big conversation” taking place right now among Democratic insiders.

  • Opinion: What Britain’s first Asian prime minister meant to my family

    The defeat of the Conservative Party in the UK election ends Rishi Sunak’s two-year premiership. Does it also sour the story of Britain’s first Asian prime minister, asks Sunder Katwala.

  • Voices: Tory downfall: The 9 reasons it has all gone wrong for Rishi Sunak

    A series of world events, poor decisions and fatal gaffes conspired to see Rishi Sunak lead the Tories to the worst electoral defeat in his party’s 346-year history

  • Victoria Starmer: Britain's 'reluctant' new first lady

    Sir Keir Starmer’s wife of 17 years has been largely absent from the campaign trial and isn’t at all keen on moving into No10. From her political roots to their unlikely meeting, Katie Strick charts the life of the PM’s fiercely private other half

  • Zelensky U-turns as he invites Russia to attend peace summit without giving up land

    Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Russia to the next peace summit despite previously saying it could only join if it relinquished land in Ukraine.

  • Here’s what would happen if Biden were to drop out of the presidential race

    CNN’s Brian Todd explains the process for picking a new Democratic presidential nominee, should President Biden decide to end his bid for reelection

  • Lebanon's Hezbollah rains 200 rockets on Israel as Gaza war rages

    Lebanon's Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets and drones at Israeli army positions on Thursday, escalating tensions between the two adversaries amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.After months of deadlocked Gaza ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to send a delegation for talks aimed at securing the release of hostages seized in Hamas's October 7 attack that sparked the war.The announcement, which came a day after Hamas said it had "ideas" on halting the nearly nine-month conflict, followed a phone call between Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden."The leaders discussed the recent response received from Hamas" and "the President welcomed the Prime Minister's decision to authorise his negotiators to engage with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators in an effort to close out the deal," the White House said.Israel launched a military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, in response to an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group on its territory.The next day Hezbollah, in support of its ally Hamas, opened a front on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, and the two sides have since exchanged near-daily cross-border fire.Hezbollah said it fired more than 200 rockets and "explosive drones" at army positions in northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed one of the Iran-backed group's commanders.Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel in the morning, and an AFP correspondent witnessed rockets crossing the frontier that were mostly intercepted by Israeli air defences but sparked wildfires.A military source said later a soldier was killed by a rocket fired into northern Israel.- Fighting in Gaza City -The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.In response, Netanyahu vowed to "crush" Hamas and Israel's military launched an offensive that has killed at least 38,011 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.Gaza's civil defence agency said seven people were killed Thursday in Israeli strikes, including five in a school in Gaza City, in the north of the besieged territory.Fighting raged in the city's Shujaiya neighbourhood and in Rafah, on the southern border with Egypt, where an Israeli evacuation order raised fears of a major new offensive.Since the order was issued on Monday, tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled eastern areas of Rafah and nearby Khan Yunis.The United Nations says 1.9 million people are thought to be displaced in Gaza, and that around nine in every 10 people in the territory have been uprooted at least once since the war broke out."Behind these numbers, there are people... that have fears and grievances. And they had probably dreams and hopes; the less and less, I fear today, unfortunately," said Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN humanitarian office in the Palestinian territories."People who in the last nine months have been moved around like pawns in a board game."- Evacuation order -The United Nations says up to 250,000 people were affected by Israel's order to evacuate 117 square kilometres (45 square miles) -- equivalent to one-third of Gaza's territory.The Israel-Hezbollah border clashes have killed at least 496 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 95 civilians, according to an AFP tally.Israeli authorities say at least 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed on their side of the UN-patrolled border.The Gaza war at the heart of the violence has meanwhile raged on, with gun battles, air strikes and shelling rocking Gaza City for an eight straight day.Israeli troops "destroyed tunnel routes in the area and eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat with tank fire, and in aerial strikes," the military said.- 'Maelstrom of human misery' -Israel has faced an international outcry over the soaring civilian death toll, punishing siege and mass destruction in Gaza.The UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, this week called for an end to the "maelstrom of human misery".Netanyahu has insisted Israel will destroy Hamas and bring home the remaining hostages.Biden, under growing domestic pressure over Washington's support for Israel, in late May outlined a roadmap for a six-week truce and exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.There has been little progress since, but Hamas said Wednesday it was communicating with officials in Qatar and Egypt as well as Turkey with an eye to ending the conflict.Hamas said its Qatar-based political chief Ismail Haniyeh had "made contact with the mediator brothers in Qatar and Egypt about the ideas that the movement is discussing with them with the aim of reaching an agreement".Netanyahu's office said Wednesday that "Israel is evaluating the (Hamas) remarks and will convey its reply to the mediators".The main stumbling block so far has been Hamas's demand for a permanent end to the fighting, which Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners strongly reject.burs-dv/kir

  • Seven moments over 14 years that destroyed the Conservative government

    The Tories have lost the 2024 general election with the worst results in the party's history. Here are the key moments that brought them down.

  • Russia is using devastating 'meat assault' attacks to find out where Ukraine's firepower is hidden: report

    Russia is throwing troops into high-casualty attacks for marginal tactical gains.

  • Tory infighting begins as Rishi Sunak leads party to record-breaking defeat

    Jacob Rees-Mogg, Grant Shapps and Suella Braverman are among senior Tories with scathing assessments of party leadership

  • Disney heiress vows to stop Democratic donations until Biden stands aside

    Abigail Disney, a long-standing donor to the Democrats, warned that the GOP would win in November if a change of leadership was not made

  • Ukraine’s new F-16 fighter jets will be destroyed as soon as they arrive

    In a brutal and terrifying three days, Russia has wreaked havoc on the tiny, battered Ukrainian air force – lofting drones to surveil the air force’s front-line airfields and then firing ballistic missiles to destroy hard-to-replace warplanes.

  • Goodbye, Galloway. This was a triumph for Israel

    British politics has hardly covered itself in glory in recent years. After the shame of the Corbyn years was punctured by the glorious Tory victory of 2019, we were subjected to a veritable gallery of disgrace: soaring immigration, Covid authoritarianism, Partygate, the Truss-Kwarteng interregnum, Gaza fanaticism. But the true nadir was the election of George Galloway in Rochdale.

  • ‘I’ve lost my job and my house, but my wife and I are worth £650m – how can we pay less tax?’

    Rishi Sunak, 44, finds himself in a bind. After a highly successful career in the City of London, followed by a brief but eventful spell in politics, he has suffered a serious demotion and been evicted from his home.