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What's in Israel's Three-Phase Gaza Ceasefire Roadmap

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conviction of former US President Donald J. Trump on 34 felony counts in his hush money trial, before announcing a proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 May 2024. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS / POOL
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conviction of former US President Donald J. Trump on 34 felony counts in his hush money trial, before announcing a proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 May 2024. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS / POOL
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What's in Israel's Three-Phase Gaza Ceasefire Roadmap

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conviction of former US President Donald J. Trump on 34 felony counts in his hush money trial, before announcing a proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 May 2024. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS / POOL
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conviction of former US President Donald J. Trump on 34 felony counts in his hush money trial, before announcing a proposal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 May 2024. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS / POOL

US President Joe Biden unveiled a three-phase Israeli proposal to end the war in Gaza on Friday, which includes a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas, said AFP.
Here are the key elements of the "comprehensive" plan that the 81-year-old called a "roadmap to an enduring ceasefire."
- Phase One -
Biden said the first phase includes a "full and complete ceasefire" lasting six weeks, with Israeli forces withdrawing from "all populated areas of Gaza."
Hamas would release "a number" of hostages captured in the October 7 attacks on Israel, including women, the elderly and the wounded. The remains of some hostages who had been killed would also be returned.
US hostages held by Hamas would also be freed, Biden said, adding that "we want them home."
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange.
Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their "homes and neighborhoods" throughout Gaza, including in the north, which has been devastated by months of Israeli bombing.
Humanitarian aid would "surge" to 600 trucks a day entering Gaza, while the international community would deliver hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters and housing units.
During the initial six-week period, Israel and Hamas would "negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a permanent end to hostilities."
The ceasefire would also be extended if the negotiations continue, with mediators the United States, Egypt and Qatar working to ensure they continue, Biden said.
Phase Two
Israeli forces would completely withdraw from Gaza under the second phase of the plan, lasting around another six weeks.
Hamas would release "all remaining living hostages" including male Israeli soldiers. This has been a key sticking point for Hamas in the past.
If both sides keep to the deal it will lead to the "cessation of hostilities permanently," Biden quoted the Israeli proposal as saying.
Phase Three
A major reconstruction and stabilization plan for Gaza would begin, backed by the US and the international community.
Homes, schools and hospitals would be rebuilt, Biden said. He would also work with regional partners to ensure it happens in a way that "does not allow Hamas to re-arm."
The reconstruction phase would take between three and five years, a senior US official said.
The final remains of any hostages who had been killed would be returned in the third phase.
What if it goes wrong?
Biden said that if Hamas "fails to fulfill its commitments under the deal, Israel can resume military operations."
But he added that Egypt and Qatar would work to make Hamas stick to the terms, while the United States would do the same for Israel.

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Palestinian Olympic Team Greeted with Cheers and Gifts in Paris

Palestinian athletes Yazan Al Bawwab and Valerie Tarazi try a date offered to them by a young supporter upon arriving to the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Roissy, north of Paris, France. (AP Photo/Megan Janetsky)
Palestinian athletes Yazan Al Bawwab and Valerie Tarazi try a date offered to them by a young supporter upon arriving to the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Roissy, north of Paris, France. (AP Photo/Megan Janetsky)
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Palestinian Olympic Team Greeted with Cheers and Gifts in Paris

Palestinian athletes Yazan Al Bawwab and Valerie Tarazi try a date offered to them by a young supporter upon arriving to the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Roissy, north of Paris, France. (AP Photo/Megan Janetsky)
Palestinian athletes Yazan Al Bawwab and Valerie Tarazi try a date offered to them by a young supporter upon arriving to the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Roissy, north of Paris, France. (AP Photo/Megan Janetsky)

Palestinian Olympic athletes were greeted with a roar of a crowd and gifts of food and roses as they arrived in Paris on Thursday, ready to represent war–torn Gaza and the rest of the territories on a global stage.

As the beaming athletes walked through a sea of Palestinian flags at the main Paris airport, they said they hoped their presence would serve as a symbol amid the Israel-Hamas war that has claimed more than 39,000 Palestinian lives.

Athletes, French supporters and politicians in the crowd urged the European nation to recognize a Palestinian state, while others expressed outrage at Israel's presence at the Games after UN-backed human rights experts said Israeli authorities were responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

“France doesn’t recognize Palestine as a country, so I am here to raise the flag,” said Yazan Al-Bawwab, a 24-year-old Palestinian swimmer born in Saudi Arabia. “We're not treated like human beings, so when we come play sports, people realize we are equal to them.”

"We're 50 million people without a country," he added.

Al-Bawwab, one of eight athletes on the Palestinian team, signed autographs for supporters and plucked dates from a plate offered by a child in the crowd.

The chants of “free Palestine” echoing through the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport show how conflict and the political tension are rippling through the Olympic Games. The world is coming together in Paris at a moment of global political upheaval, multiple wars, historic migration and a deepening climate crisis, all issues that have risen to the forefront of conversation in the Olympics.

In May, French President Emmanuel Macron said he prepared to officially recognize a Palestinian state but that the step should “come at a useful moment” when emotions aren’t running as high. That fueled anger by some like 34-year-old Paris resident Ibrahim Bechrori, who was among dozens of supporters waiting to greet the Palestinian athletes in the airport.

“I'm here to show them they're not alone, they're supported," Bechrouri said. Them being here “shows that the Palestinian people will continue to exist, that they won't be erased. It also means that despite the dire situation, they're staying resilient. They're still a part of the world and are here to stay.”

Palestinian ambassador to France Hala Abou called for France to formally recognize a Palestinian state and for a boycott of the Israeli Olympic delegation. Abou has previously said she has lost 60 relatives in the war.

“It’s welcome that comes as no surprise to the French people, who support justice, support the Palestinian people, support their inalienable right to self-determination,” she said.

That call for recognition comes just a day after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a scathing speech to Congress during a visit to Washington, which was met with protests. He declared he would achieve “total victory” against Hamas and called those protesting the war on college campuses and elsewhere in the US “useful idiots” for Iran.

Israel's embassy in Paris echoed the International Olympic Committee in a “decision to separate politics from the Games.”

"We welcome the Olympic Games and our wonderful delegation to France. We also welcome the participation of all the foreign delegations," the Embassy wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “Our athletes are here to proudly represent their country, and the entire nation is behind to support them.”

The AP has made multiple attempts to speak with Israeli athletes without success.

Even under the best of circumstances, it is difficult to maintain a vibrant Olympics training program in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem. That's become next to impossible in nine months of war between Israel and Hamas as much of the country's sporting infrastructure have been devastated.

Among the large Palestinian diaspora worldwide, many of the athletes on the team were born or live elsewhere, yet they care deeply about the politics of their parents’ and grandparents’ homeland. Among them was Palestinian American swimmer Valerie Tarazi, who handed out traditional keffiyehs to supporters surrounding her Thursday.

“You can either crumble under pressure or use it as energy,” she said. “I chose to use it as energy.”