BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 15. The U.S. will take part in the hostage release process following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, President Joe Biden announced at a briefing, Trend reports.
"The elements of this deal are what I laid out in detail this past May, which was embraced by countries around the world and endorsed overwhelmingly by the U.N. Security Council. The deal is structured in three phases. Phase one will last six weeks. It includes a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women, the elderly, and the wounded. I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release in phase one as well," he said.
President Biden further noted that during phase one, Palestinians will also be able to return to their neighborhoods across Gaza as a surge of humanitarian assistance begins.
"During the next six weeks, Israel will negotiate the necessary arrangements for phase two, which is a permanent end to the war. There are several details to work out to transition from phase one to phase two. However, the plan states that if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the ceasefire will remain in place as long as talks continue. I've spoken to the Emir of Kuwait and the President of Egypt, and we have pledged to ensure negotiations move forward for as long as necessary. When phase two begins, there will be an exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and all remaining Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza. At that point, the temporary ceasefire will become permanent.
Finally, in phase three, the remains of hostages who were killed will be returned to their families, and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza will commence. This is the ceasefire agreement I introduced last spring," the president explained.