Obama endorses Biden’s ‘clear, realistic and just’ hostage release and Gaza ceasefire proposal

Former US president Barack Obama endorses a hostage deal and Gaza ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden this evening as “clear, realistic and just.”

In a post on X, Obama says the proposal, which has been green-lit by Israel, “ensures Israel’s security, returns hostages taken on October 7th to their families, increases aid into Gaza and relieves the suffering of Palestinian civilians, and engages Israelis, Palestinians, Arab countries and the broader international community in the process of rebuilding Gaza.”

While he says a ceasefire alone won’t ease the pain of Israelis and Palestinians devastated by Hamas’s October 7 massacre and the subsequent war in Gaza, he says a truce can “put a stop to the ongoing bloodshed, help families reunite and allow a surge of humanitarian aid to help desperate, hungry people.”

“It can save lives, here and now – and it can lay the foundation for what will be a long and difficult road to a future in which Israel is secure and at peace with its neighbors, and Palestinians finally have the security, freedom and self-determination that they have sought for so long,” he adds.

Obama also praises the “steady, tireless efforts” of Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to ” bring this awful war to an end.”