US President Joe Biden is appealing to Hamas and Israel to accept a new ceasefire deal for Gaza.
The deal would involve the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and the reconstruction of civilian areas in Palestine.
President Biden urged Hamas and prominent figures in Israel not to "lose this moment" after ceasefire talks ground to a halt at the start of the month when Israel refused a permanent end to the war and ramped up its assault on the city of Rafah.
He said negotiators "have been relentlessly focused" on a ceasefire "for the past several months".
"Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should take this deal; work to make it real, make it lasting; and forge a better future out of the tragic terror attack and war," President Biden said in an address at the White House on Friday.
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Middle East in the White House in Washington DC, 31-5-24. Image: X/@WhiteHouse"This is truly a decisive moment. Israel has made their proposal. Hamas says it wants a ceasefire," he said.
"This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.
"It’s time to begin this new stage, for the hostages to come home, for Israel to be secure, for the suffering to stop.
"It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin," he added.
Hamas said in a statement that it "views positively" what was included in Mr Biden's speech.
The group said it will deal "constructively with any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, the return of the displaced to all their places of residence, and the completion of a serious prisoner exchange deal if the occupation declares its explicit commitment to that".
The proposal was transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said its main goals are "the return of all our abductees and the elimination of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities".
A statement claimed the three-stage proposal "allows Israel to maintain these principles".
Three-phase ceasefire
The first phase of the proposed deal would be a ceasefire lasting six weeks, during which Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza, President Biden said.
If the negotiations take longer than six weeks the ceasefire would continue for as long as it takes to strike a deal, he added.
Phase two would involve Hamas handing over the remaining 100 hostages and Israel withdrawing all of its forces from Gaza.
The final phase would be about a "major reconstruction plan" for Gaza, according to the US President.
'Sheer hell'
In his speech, President Biden said the Palestinians have endured "hell".
"The past eight months have marked heartbreaking pain: pain of those whose loved ones were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th; hostages and their families waiting in anguish," he said.
"The Palestinian people have endured sheer hell in this war.
"Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children. Far too many have been badly wounded".
He also claimed Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another attack like the one on October 7th.
The three-phase ceasefire proposal as presented by the White House. Source: X/@WhiteHouseThe announcement comes after widespread condemnation of an Israeli airstrike on Rafah last Sunday, which killed at least 45 displaced Palestinians living in tents.
Distressing images of burned-out tents and bodies being pulled from wreckage have been shared around the world on social media, with the caption 'All Eyes On Rafah'.
Mr Netanyahu claimed the strike was a "tragic mistake", while a spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said much of the destruction was caused by a subsequent fire that could not have been solely ignited by the type of munitions used.
Just days earlier the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court - a separate court also based in The Hague - also announced an application for arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as leaders of Hamas.
Additional reporting: IRN
