Israel and Hamas making progress on ceasefire deal but work remains: Biden

President Joe Biden announced that Israel and Hamas are making progress in ceasefire negotiations but acknowledged there are more hurdles for the parties to clear.

Specifically, he declared on Thursday during his highly anticipated press conference following the NATO summit that the two sides had “agreed” to the “framework” of the proposal he laid out back on May 31.

“There are still gaps to close, but we’re making progress, the trend is positive, and I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now,” he added. The president then reiterated that sentiment on X on Friday, saying that there “is still work to do … but that framework is now agreed to by both Israel and Hamas.”

He added, “I’m determined to get this done.”

The United States, Qatar, and Egypt have acted as mediators between Israel and Hamas, and they have spent several months trying to get both sides to agree to a mutually beneficial ceasefire that would include the release of some Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7 and a pause in the war, which would allow for a surge of humanitarian aid.

They have repeatedly gotten close to agreements only for one side or the other to pull out of the deal, and that could happen again.

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Thursday the administration sees “the possibility of reaching [an] agreement” and said that “the remaining issues can be resolved, should be resolved.” However, he also said, “Obviously, can’t guarantee that because there’s a lot of details to be hammered through.”

Biden initially outlined the framework for the deal in a speech on May 31. The proposal he laid out was a three-phase deal, the first of which would last six weeks and would include a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza, the release of some Israeli hostages, the release of likely hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israel, and a surge in aid. Palestinian civilians would also be able to return to their homes, if they were not destroyed in the conflict.

The specific details of the second phase would be negotiated and finalized during the first phase, but they would likely include the release of all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for an end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase would include the return of the bodies of any hostages who were killed and the start of the reconstruction of Gaza.

In the days after Biden announced the proposal, which several international leaders endorsed, Hamas declined the offer. Last week, however, Hamas sent an updated response to mediators dropping its key demand that Israel agree to an end of the war upfront, which a senior Biden administration official called a “breakthrough.”

It has restarted those negotiations, with both Israel and the U.S. saying it had dispatched its teams to meet and make additional progress, though the official said, “I just want to emphasize this does not mean this deal is going to be closed in a period of days.”

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Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the Fourth of July, and according to a readout from the White House: “The President welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to authorize his negotiators to engage with U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian mediators in an effort to close out the deal.”

Netanyahu has reportedly made additional demands in these negotiations because he believes Hamas is back at the table from a position of weakness, according to Axios.

The war has devastated the Gaza Strip. After nearly nine months of war, the entire population of Gaza is facing the threat of famine, and a majority of Gazans have been displaced from their homes, many of which were destroyed in the war. Hamas has spent nearly two decades in power in Gaza, where it has stockpiled weapons and devoted significant aid for terrorist ambitions, and its strategy includes embedding itself within the civilian population to use them as shields.

Israel’s military does not often share its death toll statistics, while the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The true death toll will likely be unknown for the near future, though Israeli and Gaza officials say it’s north of 30,000 people.

The war began after Hamas and other militants carried out the largest terrorist attack in Israel’s history on Oct. 7, when they broke through the barriers along the border and killed roughly 1,200 people, some of whom were mutilated, while they kidnapped another roughly 250 people. About 100 of the hostages were released back in November when the two sides agreed to a weeklong ceasefire — which, to this day, remains the only stoppage of the war since its inception.