STORY: Biden formally announces reaching of ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel, Hamas  
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 15, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 16, 2025
LENGTH: 00:02:50
LOCATION: Washington D.C. 
CATEGORY: POLITICS 

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
4. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
5. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
6. various of exterior of the White House    

STORYLINE:

U.S. President Joe Biden formally announced Wednesday that a deal between Israel and Hamas was reached, which would temporarily pause the fight in Gaza and see the phased release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
"Good afternoon. It's a very good afternoon, because at long last I can announce a cease fire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas."

Biden said in remarks delivered from the White House.

Under the deal, which shortly before Biden's speech was officially announced by the Qatari prime minister in Doha -- where the negotiations had been taking place -- Hamas and its allied militant groups would release 33 hostages during the phase one, 42-day ceasefire with Israel.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
"Phase one will last six weeks. It includes a full and complete cease fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all the populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas, including women and elderly and the wounded. And I'm proud to say Americans will be part of that hostage release in phase one as well, and the Vice President and I cannot wait to welcome them home. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and during phase one, the Palestinians can also return to their neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, and the surge humanitarian assistance in the Gaza will begin, and the innocent people can have a greater access to these vital supplies. You know, during the next six weeks, Israel will negotiate the necessary arrangements to get phase two, which is a permanent end of the war. Let me say it again, a permanent end of the war. There are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two, but the plan says if negotiations take longer than six weeks, the cease fire will continue as long as the negotiations continue."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
"Any final remains of hostages who have been killed will be returned to their families, and a major reconstruction plan for Gaza will begin."

Prior to Biden's speech, his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, preemptively weighed in on news of the deal being reached, claiming his own team's victory over the outcome.

"This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, referring to his win in the U.S. presidential election.

"With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven," Trump said, adding that his team will "build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords."

Mediated by the United States during Trump's first term in the White House, the Abraham Accords are a series of bilateral agreements on the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab nations. Arab nations that are signatories of the Abraham Accords include Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan.

At the conclusion of his speech, Biden was asked by a shouting reporter how much credit he would give the Trump team for the ceasefire-hostage deal.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
"The exact framework of the deal (is what) I proposed back in May, exact. And we got the world to endorse it."

SOUNDBITE 5 (English): JOE BIDEN, U.S. President
"I knew this deal would have to be implemented by the next team, so I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice, because that's what American presidents do."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C.
(XHTV)