During withdrawal speech, Biden vows to end Gaza War, bring hostages home during remaining 6 months of presidency

In a speech to the American people on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to continue his efforts to end the Gaza War in the remaining six months of his term, while explaining his decision to withdraw from the presidential race.

Speaking from the Oval Office, which he called a “sacred space,” Biden emphasized that he revered the office of the presidency, but added, “I love my country more.”

Biden explained his surprise withdrawal, saying it was due to the realization that “there’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”

The U.S. president listed several projects he intends to focus on during his remaining six months in office, mentioning economic issues, climate change, hate and extremism and political violence, among others, before noting the Gaza War as his last point.

“I’m going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war. We are also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world,” Biden said.

The ongoing negotiations over a hostage deal and truce agreement are also expected to be the focus of the president’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

A senior U.S. official said on Wednesday that negotiations for a hostage release and ceasefire deal appear to be in their closing stages and that Biden and Netanyahu would discuss remaining gaps in their meeting on Thursday.

“What I expect the conversation to be tomorrow is about these remaining gaps and kind of how we close them, and what the parameters are,” the official told the press.

The current round of negotiations is based on the outline Biden presented to the world in a speech at the end of May.

Read the full text of Biden’s withdrawal speech here.