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Joe Biden administration thanks Donald Trump after Israel-Hamas hostage deal: ‘Crucial’

Jan 16, 2025 07:02 AM IST

Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip that was going on since October 7, 2023. Netanyahu also called Trump to thank him.

The US State Department on Wednesday said the involvement of President-elect Donald Trump’s team was critical in getting the truce deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza over the line.

President-elect Donald Trump was in the centre of news after Israel, Hamas deal.(AP)
President-elect Donald Trump was in the centre of news after Israel, Hamas deal.(AP)

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also thanked Donald Trump and his team for working with the Joe Biden administration and said it was important that they were on the table.

"When it comes to the involvement of President-Elect Trump's team, it has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line. It's been critical because obviously, as I stand here today, this administration's term in office will expire in five days...We, of course, thank the Trump team for working with us on this cease-fire agreement. We think it's important that they were at the table,” he said in a press conference after the deal was announced.

Miller further said the work out on the deal showed that when Americans rise above partisan lines, a lot can be done.

“It shows that when Americans are willing to work together across partisan lines, as we were willing to do on this occasion because it's in the national interests of the United States, a lot can get done." he said.

Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip that was going on since October 7, 2023, mediators between the two announced on Wednesday. It has raised the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

What is in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal?

The three-phase ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. It will also allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes.

The desperately needed humanitarian aid will also flow into the territory ravaged by 15 months of war that has killed over 46,000 people.

Once the first phase of the deal takes effect, it is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.

Over those six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it’s unclear if all are alive.

It remained unclear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians would be able to return to their homes, and whether the agreement would lead to a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza — key Hamas demands for releasing the remaining captives.

The second and most difficult phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from devastation caused by the war.

US President Joe Biden touted the deal from Washington, saying the ceasefire will stay in place as long as Israel and Hamas remain at the negotiating table over a long-term truce. Biden credited months of “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy” for landing the deal, noting that his administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had been “speaking as one” in the latest negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Wednesday that the ceasefire agreement with Hamas is still not complete and final details are being worked out.

An Israeli official familiar with the talks said those details center on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu’s Cabinet, the Associated Press reported.

Netanyahu thanked Trump and Biden for “advancing” the ceasefire agreement, but did not explicitly say whether he has accepted it, saying he would issue a formal response only “after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed.”

(With AP inputs)

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