US President Joe Biden has expressed hope for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and has put Monday next week as the time horizon. “My national security adviser tells me we're close,” Biden said yesterday during a visit to New York. “My hope is that we will have a ceasefire by next Monday.” At the same time, the US president insisted that there was still no agreement.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have been trying for weeks to broker a new ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. It aims, among other things, to release hostages held by Hamas and expand aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip.
Media: Negotiation deadlock
According to media reports, Israel's difficult and indirect negotiations with Hamas regarding the release of hostages and a cease-fire in the Gaza war are not getting off the ground.
Israeli television channels Channel 12 and Khan quoted officials last night as saying the negotiating framework proposed by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States contradicts Hamas's demands. Hamas accused Israel of adopting a blockade stance.
The war in Gaza was triggered by a major attack on Israel on October 7 by Hamas, which the European Union and the United States classify as a terrorist organization. Islamist militants primarily committed atrocities against civilians; According to Israeli figures, about 1,160 people were killed and about 250 hostages were taken in the Gaza Strip.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel is carrying out a military operation in the Gaza Strip with the aim of destroying Hamas. According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, more than 29,700 people have been killed in the Palestinian territories.
