Hamas Declares Victory and Celebrates Ceasefire as Biden Claims Credit
Hamas declared victory early Friday morning and President Joe Biden claimed credit for the reportedly Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli security cabinet voted to unanimously accept a “mutual and unconditional” ceasefire late Thursday after 11 days of violence, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The skies have remained silent since the ceasefire began at 2 a.m. Friday.
Following the truce, people took to the streets of Gaza shouting “Allahu Akbar” or whistled from their balconies to celebrate the end of the fighting, according to The Times of Israel.
“This is the euphoria of victory,” Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas figure, told the crowd of Palestinians.
People also gathered outside the house of Hamas military wing Cmdr. Mohammed Deif shouting “victory” and waving green Hamas flags.
According to reports, Egypt brokered the ceasefire but Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi thanked Biden for his role in it, according to The Post.
Biden acknowledged the “critical role” Egyptian officials played in the ceasefire but emphasized his administration’s intensive work to bring peace in his own statement.
“Over the last 11 days, I spoke with the Prime Minister six times. I’ve also spoken with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority more than once in part of our intense diplomatic engagement,” he said.
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“And I want to also thank the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, our National Security Advisor, and everyone on our team for their incredible efforts to bring this about — this outcome that we’re about to see.”
“You know,” Biden continued, “we’ve held intensive high-level discussions, hour by hour, literally — Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, and other Middle Eastern countries — with an aim of avoiding the sort of prolonged conflict we’ve seen in previous years when the hostilities have broken out.”
Biden also promised to help Israel restock its Iron Dome interceptors and work with the Palestinian Authority to rebuild Gaza.
“I believe the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy,” he said.
“My administration will continue our quiet and relentless diplomacy toward that end. I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress, and I’m committed to working for it.”
According to The Post, there were fears the ceasefire would not come to pass, with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz saying the “reality on the ground will determine the continuation of the campaign.”
Hamas and other terror groups launched over 4,000 projectiles at Israel since May 10, The Times reported.
The Israel Defense Forces said 120 of the 232 people killed by responding Israeli strikes were members of Hamas and 25 were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
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