For weeks now, there have been talks and anticipation around a ceasefire deal to end the conflict in Gaza. For weeks, those talks and that anticipation has led to nothing. Could there be a breakthrough this evening? President Biden has been speaking in the last few hours, and he said Israel had submitted a comprehensive new proposal for a ceasefire to end its war with Hamas. The plan would involve the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas of Gaza, as well as release of Israeli hostages. The President said the proposal has been sent to the Palestinian side, and he urge Hamas to accept it. Let's have a listen to more of what the President had to say.

For the past several months, my negotiators, a foreign policy, intelligence community alike, have been relentlessly focused, not just on a ceasefire that would inevitably be fragile and temporary, but on a durable end of the war. That's been the focus, a durable end of this war, one that brings all the hostages home, ensures Israel's security, creates a better day after in Gaza without Hamas in power, and sets the stage for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

President Biden speaking earlier at the White House. Well, joining me now is our Middle East Correspondent, Hugo Batchega. Hugo, what is different in this new proposal that's come from Israel? Because, of course, for weeks now, we've been hearing of different offers and deals from both sides.

Yeah, Rajini. So this proposal is very similar to a proposal that was put forward by Egypt, which has been acting as a mediator in these negotiations. So it is a three-phase proposal. The first phase is a six-week ceasefire that would lead to the the release of some of the hostages who are now being held in Gaza, and that it would see negotiations happen for a permanent ceasefire. We know that yesterday, Hamas said that it would not engage in negotiations before the end of the war. We've seen that here in Israel, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected any idea of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza before before the end of the war and before he could achieve the goals of the war. It's very interesting that this plan has been announced by President Biden. He didn't mention Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Also, we know that this is very likely to be unpopular with some supporters, far-right supporters of the Prime Minister who have rejected the idea of reaching a deal with Hamas. They say that the war must continue until Hamas is defeated and also until all the hostages are freed because they say that military pressure is the only way to bring the hostages back.

I think the President described this deal as a truly historic moment, and he said that he urge Hamas to accept this deal. He said that this deal was presented to Hamas by Qatar, which has also been acting as mediators in these negotiations.

Hugo, what comes next then? We wait for a response from Hamas?

Yeah, I think now the ball is on on Hamas's court, and we are waiting to see what reaction is going to come from Hamas. We're also waiting to hear from Prime Minister Netanyahu, from senior Israeli officials. The speech by President Biden came after the start of the Jewish holiday here, so I think it's going to take a little bit of time before we hear from some key Israeli officials. But again, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been under pressure from the families of the hostages who remain in captivity community in Gaza, and also from international leaders to try to present a proposal for a ceasefire. On the other hand, Hamas has also been under a lot of pressure to accept the deal because obviously, we've seen that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of this conflict. Now, a new proposal being put forward by the Israelis, according to President Biden. So I think now we're still waiting to hear what reaction is going to come from Hamas.

Hugo Batchega in Jerusalem. Thank you very much for that. And we're just hearing from the Israeli Prime Minister's office a statement here that's come into us by the Reuters news agency, which says, The Gaza war will not end until all goals are achieved, including the return of all hostages and the destruction of Hamas. We'll bring you more reaction from all sides to those proposals which have been announced by the White House through the program.