Offering new details on the deal being negotiated, senior Biden administration officials briefing reporters say the ceasefire would start with a six-week first stage and be structured in a manner in which two more stages could be subsequently added.
The deal would also see the “repositioning of Israeli forces” during that first stage and also allow for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza.
This has been a sticking point for Israel, which has publicly rejected this demand to date, claiming it would allow for a resurgence of Hamas in that half of the Strip.
“We’re returning people to the north. That is part of the arrangement that has been worked out,” the official says.
The plan to allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza expedites the need to improve the mechanisms for delivering humanitarian aid throughout the Strip, which is why the Biden administration is advancing the maritime corridor and other delivery mechanisms, one of the senior officials said.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 7, 2024
