President Biden on Wednesday hailed the efforts of President-elect Donald Trump’s team to help reach a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas.
Mr. Biden made it clear that the agreement, which includes the release of hostages, mirrors the ceasefire that his administration put forth in May. The remarks were aimed at Mr. Trump, who got ahead of Mr. Biden by announcing on social media that a deal had been reached, and taking credit for it, roughly two hours before Mr. Biden addressed the nation.
Although Mr. Biden underscored that his administration helped facilitate the deal, he acknowledged that his team worked closely with the incoming Trump administration to finalize the agreement. He said that even though it was reached under his administration, it would be implemented by Mr. Trump.
“In these past few days, we’ve been speaking as one team,” he said, adding that he told his team to “coordinate closely’ with incoming Trump officials.
Mr. Biden said it was critical that both administrations were “all speaking with the same voice.”
Speaking from the White House, Mr. Biden was flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the deal is evidence that his team is racking up victories for the U.S. even before he’s sworn in on Monday.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” the president-elect said.
“We have achieved so much even without being in the White House. Just imagine all of the wonderful things that will happen when I return to the White House and my administration is fully confirmed so they can secure more victories for the United States,” he said.
Mr. Trump said his national security team and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, “will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.”
At a press conference in Mar-a-Lago last week, Mr. Trump threatened to unleash “all hell will break out” in the Middle East if the hostages were not released by the time he’s sworn in on Monday.
Mr. Biden said the deal would end the conflict that began with a “brutal assault” on Israel in October 2023, followed by “more than 15 months of terror for the hostages” and “more than 15 months of suffering” for innocent Palestinians living in Gaza.
“The Palestinian people have gone through hell,” Mr. Biden said. “Too many innocent people have died, too many communities have been destroyed.”
Mr. Biden told reporters he was “confident” the deal will last.
The three-phase agreement would start with “a full and complete ceasefire,” Mr. Biden said. That would include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of some hostages held by Hamas, including women, elderly and the wounded. The hostage release, which would include all Americans held by Hamas, would occur over a six-week period.
That six-week period would also give Israel and Hamas time to negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to the second and third phases, which would be a permanent end to the war. Mr. Biden said “a number of details” still need to be hammered out during those negotiations, but emphasized that the ceasefire would continue if talks last longer than six weeks.
The final phases of the deal would involve releasing all remaining hostages and a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. At that point, the ceasefire would become permanent, Mr. Biden said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.