President Biden and the leaders of 16 other nations whose citizens are being held hostage by Hamas called on the terrorist organization Thursday to accept a cease-fire deal and release the hostages.
In a statement, Mr. Biden joined the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Columbia, Poland, Austria and others in urging Hamas to immediately release the hostages.
A senior administration official called the statement “an extraordinary display of unanimity by so many leaders around the world.”
“We emphasize that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza and lead to the end of hostilities,” the statement said.
In exchange for releasing the hostages, Palestinians living in Gaza would be able to return to their homes and their lands with “preparations beforehand to ensure shelter and humanitarian provisions,” the statement said.
Israel and Hamas have been considering the cease-fire deal, which was proposed by the U.S., but mediators cautioned that both sides remain far from a deal.
The plan presented by Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns to officials from Israel, Hamas, Qatar and Egypt, calls for a six-week cease-fire in Gaza, which has faced an intense Israeli military assault in the aftermath of Hamas‘ Oct. 7 terror attack that killed more than 1,000 people in Israel.
During the pause in fighting, Hamas would release 40 of the more than 100 hostages the group is holding in the enclave in exchange for 900 Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s jails, including 100 serving long sentences for terrorism-related offenses.
The 40 hostages that would be released under the plan would include women, children, elderly men and those in fragile health.
“There’s a very forward-leaning deal on the table. I think it’s the roadmap to the end of the crisis and all we’re asking Hamas to do is release the vulnerable category of hostages,” the U.S. official said.
Hamas has told mediators that it needs time to consider the proposal.
The statement comes after Hamas released a video Wednesday appearing to show one of its Israeli hostages delivering an address in captivity.
The man, who identifies himself as Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, delivered a long statement that was clearly crafted by Hamas.
In the message, the man references his 200 days in captivity, which suggests it was filmed on or near April 24, exactly 200 days since Hamas launched its attack on Israel.