Biden hails ceasefire; says American hostages to be freed in initial phase

President Biden on Wednesday hailed a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel that would include the release of American hostages, marking a major diplomatic win in a foreign conflict that had come to define his final year in office.

Biden delivered remarks from the White House hours after the first reports emerged that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a deal that included a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement to release Israeli and American hostages as well as Palestinian prisoners.

“At long last, I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said, with Vice President Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken standing behind him.

"The road to this deal has not been easy," Biden said. "I’ve worked on foreign policy for decades. This was one of the toughest negotiations I’ve ever experienced. We reached this point because to the pressure Israel built on Hamas, backed by the United States."

As part of the deal, Biden announced that the deal includes the release of American hostages in the deal's initial six-week-long phase that includes a pause in fighting.

“I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release in phase one as well, and the vice president and I cannot wait to welcome them home," Biden said.

The White House had for months gone through periods of suggesting a ceasefire deal was within reach, only for it to falter or for one of the sides to back away from the table. Wednesday’s deal largely aligns with a multi-phase proposal Biden first put forward in late May.

Biden noted the agreement would be implemented during the incoming Trump administration.

“I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team so I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice because that’s what America’s presidents do,” Biden said.

The president spoke more than an hour after President-elect Trump weighed in to take credit for the developments in the Middle East.

“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had been in Doha in recent days, where negotiations have long been ongoing to reach a ceasefire.

The deal would open the door for a possible end to more than a year of fighting since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel, and Israel’s subsequent war against the U.S.-designated terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli wartime Cabinet will have to vote to accept the terms of the deal, and then a second vote will go before Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. If the deal passes both those votes, there will also be time for appeals against the deal to be brought to the Supreme Court.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later Wednesday that some details were still being worked out, adding it was hopeful the deal would be “finalized tonight.”

The president has for months tried to walk a careful line with his approach to Israel. He has defended its right to respond to Hamas, repeatedly condemned antisemitism in the wake of the 2023 attack and rejected allegations that Israel was committing genocide.

At the same time, Biden has called for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, been publicly critical of Netanyahu and temporarily paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last May.

Biden has faced intense backlash from some in his own party over his handling of the conflict in Gaza, which was set off after Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis in terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

Democrats have criticized Biden for failing to do more to hold Israel accountable as tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians were killed in Gaza in Israeli military campaigns. Watchdogs have for months described a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, where many Palestinians lacked access to adequate food, water and medicine.

"The Palestinian people have gone through hell. Too many innocent people hae died. Too many communities have been destroyed," Biden said Wednesday. "With this deal, the people fo Gaza can finally recover and rebuild. They can look to a future without Hamas in power."

Updated 2:30 p.m.

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