Joe Biden has said he believes a new temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is possible by next Monday.
The US president spontaneously provided an update on Monday during a visit to New York in response to reporters’ questions about when he expected the ceasefire to begin.
“My national security adviser says we’re getting closer. We’re almost there. We’re not done yet,” Biden said. “We hope that a ceasefire will be in place by next Monday.”
Biden made the comments in New York after appearing on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Israel’s war cabinet approved the rough terms of the agreement over the weekend, which calls for a halt to fighting for several weeks in exchange for the release of hostages. The weeks-long shutdown will allow hundreds of trucks to deliver aid to Gaza. Nearly 30,000 people have died in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, and disease and starvation have affected most of the population.
The U.N. food agency last week suspended aid to northern Gaza, citing Israeli shootings and “total chaos and violence due to the breakdown of internal order” amid increasing reports of famine.
Biden’s comments came hours after the death of an active-duty U.S. Air Force member who self-immolated outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in protest of the war in Gaza.
The attack follows an October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel that killed around 1,200 people and took nearly 200 hostages. As part of the earlier agreement, about 100 hostages were released in exchange for a one-week suspension of operations. Israeli authorities believe there are about 130 hostages remaining in Gaza.
U.S. officials hope a weeks-long cessation of fighting could pave the way for an end to the war. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue Israeli shelling even after the pause. “I have set three war goals: first, to free the hostages; second, to destroy Hamas; and third, to ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.” he said on CBS’s “Face of the Nation.” “Please understand that there will be no peace unless we completely win. We cannot leave Hamas alone.”
The situation has become politically complicated for Biden, who is competing for votes in the US presidential primaries. During Tuesday’s Michigan election, activists urged Democrats to mark their ballots as “uncommitted” instead of endorsing Biden, urging the president to change course and seek a permanent cease-fire. I asked.
