Biden: No one should undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza

(Patria) - US President Joe Biden stated on Friday that no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza, which he claimed was now in sight, but warned it was "far from over," Reuters reported.

"No one in the region should take actions to undermine this process," Biden wrote on social media.

He later told reporters he was optimistic about the prospects for a ceasefire.

"An hour ago, it was still in play. I'm optimistic. Far from over," he said.

"There are still a few issues. I think we've made progress," he added, without elaborating.

Asked when a ceasefire deal would begin if an agreement was reached, Biden said, "That remains to be seen."

Israel has insisted that peace would only be possible if Hamas is destroyed, while Hamas has said it would only accept a permanent ceasefire, not a temporary one.

Ceasefire talks in Doha were paused on Friday and will resume next week. In a joint statement, the US, Qatar, and Egypt stated that Washington had presented a new proposal. Washington, Israel's most important ally, says a ceasefire would reduce the growing threat of the Israeli war spreading from the Gaza Strip. Biden initially presented a three-phase ceasefire proposal in a speech on May 31, but mediators have encountered repeated obstacles.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent attack on the Hamas-controlled enclave has killed over 40,000 Palestinians and displaced almost the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide accusations at the World Court, which Israel denies.