‘Today the guns in Gaza have gone silent’, Biden says

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00:00The ceasefire has gone into effect in Gaza, and today we're seeing hostages being released.

00:09Three Israeli women held against their will in the dark tunnels for 470 days.

00:15Four more women will be released in seven days.

00:17Three additional hostages every seven days thereafter, including at least two American

00:21citizens in this first phase.

00:25We pray for them and their families, for there's going to be a long recovery ahead.

00:30By the 16th day of the deal, talks will begin in the second phase.

00:34This phase includes the release of Israeli soldiers and a permanent end of the war without

00:40Hamas in power or able to threaten Israel.

00:44Hundreds of trucks are entering Gaza as I speak.

00:47They're carrying assistance for civilians who've suffered enormously from the war that

00:51Hamas started on October 7th, 2023, nearly 15 months ago.

00:57Today alone, we anticipate several hundred trucks will enter the Gaza Strip as I'm speaking.

01:03And after so much pain, destruction, loss of life, today the guns in Gaza have gone

01:08silent.

01:09This was the deal that I outlined for the world back in May 31st.

01:13Many of you covered it at the time.

01:16It was endorsed overwhelmingly by folks around the world, including the UN Security Council,

01:22unanimously endorsed the deal and developed in coordination with Egypt, Qatar, and Israel.

01:30I've worked in foreign policy for decades, and this is one of the toughest negotiations

01:35I've been part of.

01:36Many of you who follow these negotiations will attest that the road to this deal has

01:40been not easy at all and a long road.

01:44But we've reached this point today because of the pressure Israel built on Hamas, backed

01:48by the United States.

01:50Some said my policy of affirmed support for Israel is relentlessly pursuing diplomacy,

01:55risk drawing America into a wider war in the region.

01:59I listened to those voices, many of whom I respected a great deal, but I concluded abandoning

02:04the course I was on would not have led us to the ceasefire we're seeing today, but instead

02:10it would have risked a wider war in the region that so many feared.

02:15Now the region has been fundamentally transformed.

02:18Hamas's longtime leader, Sinmar, is dead.

02:21Hamas sponsors in the Middle East have been badly weakened by Israel, backed by the United

02:26States.

02:27Hezbollah, one of Hamas's biggest backers, was significantly weakened on the battlefield

02:33and its leadership was destroyed.

02:35Even as we worked for diplomatic solutions in Lebanon, we provided ongoing assistance

02:40and support to Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah, including its efforts to

02:44take out the terror infrastructure along the border between Israel and Lebanon.

02:50Israel's campaign was extremely successful, so much so that by the end of November, the

02:56United States had brokered a ceasefire in Lebanon.

03:00Hezbollah did what it said it would never do.

03:02It cut its deal and abandoned Hamas.

03:07And today, Lebanon, in Lebanon, there's finally a new president and prime minister, both of

03:12whom support a sovereign Lebanon without Hezbollah running the show or playing any part in it.

03:19The Assad regime next door in Syria is gone, removing Iran's ready access to Lebanon.

03:27Iran is in the weakest position in decades after the U.S. military helped defend Israel

03:32from Iranian missiles and supported Israel's military response inside Iran.

03:37Just look across the region.

03:38In Lebanon, there's an opportunity for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah.

03:43In Syria, a future free from the Assad, the tyranny of Assad.

03:49For the Palestinian people, a credible path to a state of their own.

03:53For the region and the future normalization and integration of Israel with all its Arab

03:58neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, which I've spoken with.

04:01You know, we've had many difficult days since Hamas began this terrible war.

04:05We've encountered roadblocks and setbacks, but we haven't given up.

04:09And a special thanks to my team, particularly Brett McGurk, who many of you know, who spent

04:14weeks and months working nonstop to reach this deal.

04:18Many of those weeks and months out of the country.

04:21Today's ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages is a result of a principled and

04:27effective policy that we presided over for months.

04:31And we get it.

04:32We got here without a wider war in the Middle East.

04:34Many predicted.

04:35And now it falls in the next administration to help implement this deal.

04:39I was pleased to have our team speak as one voice in the final days.

04:44It was both necessary and effective and unprecedented, but success can require persistence and continuing

04:51support for our friends in the region and the belief in diplomacy backed by deterrence.

04:57So as we reflect on the news from Gaza today, we also remember all the victims of this war.

05:03They were mindful, mindful that the pursuit of a lasting peace, while never easy or quick,

05:09must always be our calling.

05:11So thank you all for listening.

05:13May God bless you all.

05:14May God protect our troops.

05:15I'm looking forward to this deal being fully implemented.

05:18And I'm sorry, I'm not going to take any questions now because I'm waiting.

05:21There's a whole congregation waiting for me.

05:23And I'm sure the remainder of the day, I'll have an opportunity to speak with you.

05:26Thank you very much.

05:27Anything about the condition of the hostages that were released today and the others?

05:31Yes, I've just got a call saying the three are released into Gaza to the, uh, uh, out

05:40of the hands of, of, of the, of their captors.

05:43And they appear to be in good health, but it's early to tell they're literally being,

05:47they may be across the border of the Gaza Strip into Israel.

05:51Now I'm not certain.

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