Hamas No Longer Poses Major Threat To Israel, Biden Says

Israel has degraded Hamas’ military capabilities significantly since October, and the militant group no longer poses a major threat to Israel, President Joe Biden said Friday.

Biden offered that analysis while outlining a new three-phase cease-fire proposal Israel has offered Hamas, which would lead to the release of all hostages and a permanent end to fighting.

“The people of Israel should know they can make this offer without any further risk to their own security, because they've devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months,” Biden said. “At this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another Oct. 7.”

He was referring to the militant group’s surprise attack on Israeli soil in October, which killed some 1,200 people and led to the hostage-taking of 250 people. Israel retaliated with an all-out invasion of Gaza which has plunged the territory into famine-like conditions for 2.2 million Palestinians.

The Biden administration has faced mounting pressure domestically and internationally to push Israel to stop its operations in Gaza, which have killed more than 35,000 people since October, according to Hamas-led Gazan authorities. Publicly, Israeli officials said they won’t agree to a permanent cease-fire until Hamas’ military is entirely destroyed.

Earlier this week, Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said he expected the war to last at least another seven months –– right up to the end of the year.

Administration officials hope that Israel’s latest deal will provide the opening needed to quiet the guns and prompt the final exchange of all remaining hostages.

“The deal does stop the war,” said a senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the situation on condition of anonymity. But, the official said, “What’s on the table now is very close to the deal Hamas said they would take” in earlier negotiations.

Hamas rejected previous cease-fire deals, as they didn’t offer a pathway to end the war for good.

The first phase of the three-phase deal would last six weeks and include a “complete” cease-fire, a withdrawal of Israel forces from all populated areas in the Gaza Strip, the exchange of a number of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and the return of the bodies of Israelis killed by Hamas, Biden said.

Palestinian civilians would also be allowed to return to their homes across the enclave, and humanitarian assistance would surge, with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza daily, he said. Hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters would also be delivered.

“All that and more would begin immediately,” he said. After the fighting ends, Biden said the U.S. would work with partners to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals in Gaza and repair communities that were destroyed.

There were no immediate statements from Hamas or Israeli officials on the proposal.

Biden’s remarks come as Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into the southern Gazan city of Rafah on Friday, advancing into the central part of the city despite international pushback against the operation.

In his remarks, Biden offered some of his most pointed criticism of Israel's military strategy in Gaza since the war began.

“You can't lose this moment. Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of total victory will only bog down Israel in Gaza … and further Israel’s isolation in the world,” Biden said, adding that it’s ultimately up to Hamas to negotiate and agree to the deal.

In recent days, Israeli troops have entered Rafah’s most populated areas and razed scores of buildings along the way, radically altering the area’s geography, according to satellite imagery analyzed by The Washington Post.

The Israeli operation, according to the outlet, is similar to the size of one Israel conducted in the southern city of Khan Younis that left the area in ruins. This week, the Biden administration said Israel’s offensive in Rafah hasn’t crossed its “red line” — stressing that it's not yet on the scale of operations in Gaza City and Khan Younis.

The National Security Council didn’t respond to a request for comment when asked about the comparison to Khan Younis.