Shafak News/ US President Joe Biden was subjected to an embarrassing situation on Wednesday evening at the end of the press conference he held at the White House to announce the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
At the end of the conference, when the current president was leaving the hall, a journalist asked Biden, where she said: “Who will the history books attribute the credit for this, sir, or for you?”
And here Biden turned immediately and said, “Is this a joke?” The journalist replied, “No.”
After that, the US president said, “Thank you,” and left the hall without turning.
During the conference, US President Joe Biden said that Israel and Hamas had reached a ceasefire and a hostage agreement after many months of intense diplomacy from the United States along with Egypt and Qatar.
“This agreement will stop the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians and reunite hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” Biden said.
“The precise outlines of this plan were laid out on May 31, 2024, and then it was unanimously approved by the United Nations Security Council,” he continued.
He stated that reaching an agreement is not only the result of intense pressure on Hamas and the changing regional equation after the ceasefire in Lebanon and the weakening of Iran, but also of stubborn and arenuous American diplomacy.
The US president said his diplomacy had never stopped in its efforts to accomplish this task.
In his statement, he noted that it was time to end the fighting and start building peace and security.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani announced during a press conference that the joint mediation reached a ceasefire agreement between the two parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The foreign minister said that the first phase of the agreement includes a temporary halt to military operations, with Israeli forces withdrawing east away from densely densely located residential areas to the border in various areas of the Gaza Strip.
It also includes an exchange of prisoners and detainees according to a specific mechanism, the exchange of the remains of the deceased, the return of internally displaced persons to their places of residence in the Strip, and facilitating the exit of the sick and wounded to receive the necessary treatment.
The minister stated that the first phase also includes promoting the safe and efficient introduction and distribution of humanitarian aid on a large scale throughout the Gaza Strip, in addition to the rehabilitation of hospitals, health centers and bakeries.
It also includes the introduction of civil defence supplies, fuel, and shelter for displaced persons who have lost their homes as a result of the war.
He stated that at this stage, Hamas will release 33 Israeli detainees from the living and the remains of the dead, in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons and detention centers.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani confirmed that the implementation of the agreement will begin on Sunday, January 19, 2025.
He pointed out that the issue of reaching a final solution depends mainly on the parties concerned, explaining that the role of Qatar and Egypt as intermediaries focuses on bridging the gap between the two parties and bringing views closer, taking into account the multiple factors that affect this path.
It is worth mentioning that US President-elect Donald Trump preceded everyone and announced the reach of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, stressing that the prisoners will be released soon.
