US PRESIDENT Joe Biden said Israel has proposed to Hamas a roadmap to ending the war in Gaza. The proposal starts with a six-week ceasefire, paving the way for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and an exchange of Hamas-held hostages and Israeli-detained Palestinian militants.

Negotiations for a permanent "cessation of hostilities" will follow, and the deal will culminate with a massive reconstruction effort for Gaza.

Biden said, "Hamas no longer is capable of carrying out another October 7, just one of Israel's main objectives in this war, and quite frankly a righteous one."

Hamas' annihilation has been the unwavering mission of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his justification for carrying out a brutal, relentless war in Gaza. Netanyahu has never forgiven Hamas for going on a murderous spree when it attacked Israeli border communities and taking hundreds of hostages back to Gaza. He vowed that the Israeli offensive would not stop until the last Hamas bastion was destroyed.

The remaining Hamas stronghold is Rafah. For months the border city had been spared devastation only because it is the main conduit through which humanitarian aid to Gaza flows. Since last month, however, Rafah has come under heavy bombardment, with hospitals and refugee camps suffering heavy casualties. Last week, Israel said its troops had reached the central parts of the city.

Close to a million Palestinians, many of whom had sought refuge in Rafah after being driven from their homes elsewhere in Gaza by the fighting, face "horrific and apocalyptic" conditions, according to the UN World Food Program.

The ferocity of the Israeli assault on Rafah has triggered outrage among world leaders. Biden had threatened to halt a shipment of bombs to Israel to prevent them from being used in Rafah.

Amid the torrent of condemnation, Netanyahu has remained defiant and even thumbed his nose at the ruling of the International Court of Justice to halt the attacks.

Biden eventually walked back his threat, and the White House told the US Congress it was moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel.

Now, the US leader is calling Israel's decision to finish off Hamas as a "righteous one." Biden is clearly intent on having a ceasefire in place in Gaza, even if it means allowing Israel to clear out the last Hamas stronghold. He wants to present himself as a peacemaker when Americans vote in November.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, wants to avoid the impression that he has succumbed to US pressure and insists that the roadmap won't get off the ground until Israel's longstanding conditions for ending the war are met.

He faces a fiery debate at home over the Gaza peace proposal. In Tel Aviv, thousands joined a rally led by families of the Israeli hostages to demand that Netanyahu get the talks going.

'Going for the deal'

But rightwing leaders threatened to break with Netanyahu if the negotiations push through. The finance minister said he refused to be a part of "a government that agrees to the proposed outline and ends the war without destroying Hamas and bringing all hostages."

The national security minister said the deal "constitutes a victory for terrorism and a security threat" to Israel.

One thing going for the peace plan is that Hamas views it "positively." One senior Hamas leader said the organization "will go for this deal" if Israel does.

Former US president Barack Obama best encapsulated what is at stake in Gaza.

"A ceasefire alone won't ease the terrible pain of Israelis whose loved ones were butchered or abducted by Hamas, or the Palestinians whose families have been shattered by the subsequent war," Obama said in a statement. "It won't resolve the longstanding conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, or answer contentious issues surrounding a two-state solution or continuing settler activity in the West Bank. But what it can do is put a stop to the ongoing bloodshed, help families reunite and allow a surge of humanitarian aid to help desperate, hungry people."

To pass up this opportunity to end the fighting in Gaza would be a grievous mistake.

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