President Biden cheered on Israel’s Saturday rescue of four hostages from Gaza and promised that the U.S “won’t stop” until all hostages are released and a cease-fire is reached in the conflict between the Jewish state and Hamas. 

Mr. Biden’s remarks came during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday in Paris following festivities honoring the 80th anniversary of D-Day. 

“We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a cease-fire is reached,” Mr. Biden said. “That is essential to happen.” 

The four prisoners rescued by the Israel Defense Forces had been held in Gaza since Hamas pulled off its bloodbath on Oct. 7.

Last week, Mr. Biden released a three-step proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would ultimately see an end to hostilities, the release of all hostages and the reconstruction of war-torn Gaza. He argued that Hamas was no longer capable of an attack on Israel like the blitz in October. 

But that proposal, which is backed by Qatar and Egypt, hit immediate snags when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s goal was the destruction of Hamas. While the IDF claimed it had destroyed about half of the terrorist group’s fighting force, the complete eradication of Hamas was not yet complete. 

Mr. Macron said France backed the plan and noted that Israel’s march into the Gazan city of Rafah, which is home to over a million Palestinians, is causing too much humanitarian destruction.

“After nine months of conflict, the situation in Rafah and the human consequences are unacceptable,” he said. “It is not acceptable that Israel should not open all checkpoints to humanitarian aid as requested by the … international community for months.” 

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.