Statement on Reaching a Cease-Fire and Hostage-Release Deal Between Israel and Hamas

Today, after many months of intensive diplomacy by the United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, Israel and Hamas have reached a cease-fire and hostage deal. This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.

I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council. It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a cease-fire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran, but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy. My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.

Even as we welcome this news, we remember all the families whose loved ones were killed in Hamas's October 7 attack and the many innocent people killed in the war that followed. It is long past time for the fighting to end and the work of building peace and security to begin. I am also if thinking of the American families, three of whom have living hostages in Gaza and four awaiting return of remains after what has been the most horrible ordeal imaginable. Under this deal, we are determined to bring all of them home.

I will speak more about this soon. For now, I am thrilled that those who have been held hostage are being reunited with their families.