US President Joe Biden said he hoped to reach a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza by next Monday, as negotiations to end hostilities and secure the release of captives appear accelerate.
Biden’s comments in New York came Monday as Israeli media reported that an Israeli military delegation had traveled to Qatar for intensive talks.
The negotiations – brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States – aim to secure a six-week pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow aid to arrive in Gaza, where the United Nations say some 2.3 million people are on the brink of starvation.
The proposed pause would also allow the release of dozens of prisoners held by Hamas in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Biden, when asked when he thought a ceasefire might begin, said he hoped a truce would take effect within days.
“Well, hopefully by the start of the weekend, by the end of the weekend,” he told reporters at a New York ice cream parlor. “My national security adviser tells me we are close. We are close. We’re not done yet. I hope that by next Monday we will reach a ceasefire.”
Biden offered more details on what such a deal might look like when late-night talk show host Seth Meyers asked him about efforts to end the conflict.
The US leader said Israel had agreed to suspend its military activities in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is scheduled to begin March 10 and end April 9. I would also not participate in activities during Ramadan, to give us time to get all the hostages out,” he said.
Israel is also committed, Biden added, to allowing Palestinians to evacuate ahead of its planned assault on Rafah, the southern Gaza city where 1.4 million people, many displaced by the war, have sought refuge.
He then warned that Israel risks losing international support due to the high number of Palestinian deaths, and said that overall, “the only way for Israel to survive” was to reach an agreement that gives “peace and security to Israelis and Palestinians”.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said Biden’s comments could be read as a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He may be trying to push the parties into talks and leave a mark or two for Netanyahu by telling him that next Monday there will have to be a ceasefire. And if it doesn’t, the president will look publicly embarrassed, and that’s not something that suits American presidents,” she said.
Biden’s comments could also be aimed at voters in the state of Michigan, which is scheduled to hold its presidential primaries on Tuesday, Culhane said. Many Arab and Muslim American voters have pledged to vote “no strings attached” on their ballots to protest Biden’s support for Israel.
“The anger in Michigan is palpable,” Culhane said, noting that Biden’s emissaries to the Arab and Muslim community say the president cannot win Michigan without a significant change in foreign policy.
“Biden won Michigan by more than 157,000 votes in the last election in 2020, and there are some 300,000 Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan, not to mention young people of all races, of all religions, who are turning their backs to Biden. So they are very nervous,” she said.
Biden’s comments come a day after his NSA chief, Jake Sullivan, said representatives from Israel, Egypt, Qatar and the United States had discussed the terms of a ceasefire agreement. fire in Paris this weekend and had reached an “agreement” on the contours of such an agreement.
The talks in the French capital did not involve Hamas representatives.
The Reuters news agency, citing Egyptian security sources, reported that the Paris meeting would be followed by indirect talks involving delegates from Israel and Hamas, first in Qatar and then in Cairo.
Hamas has its political office in the Qatari capital, Doha.
On Monday in Qatar, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and discussed efforts to reach an “immediate and lasting ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip,” according to the Qatar News Agency.
After the meeting, Haniyeh said Hamas welcomed mediators’ efforts to end the war and accused Israel of procrastinating while Gaza residents die under siege.
Israel, meanwhile, continues to publicly maintain that it will not end the war until Hamas is eradicated and that its planned assault on Rafah will continue even if a ceasefire agreement is reached.
The Israeli offensive on Gaza has killed 29,782 Palestinians since October 7, when Hamas launched surprise attacks in southern Israel.
Some 1,139 people were killed during the Hamas offensive.
The armed group also took some 250 prisoners to Gaza.
More than 100 captives were freed during a short-lived ceasefire in November, while about 132 remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
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