Gaza ceasefire deal unlikely during Biden's term

(Patria) - US officials now believe a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza is unlikely before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The newspaper cited senior officials in the White House, State Department and Pentagon without naming them, Reuters reported last night.

"I can tell you that we do not believe that deal is falling apart," Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday before the report was published. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said two weeks ago that 90 percent of a ceasefire agreement had been agreed.

The United States and mediators Qatar and Egypt have been trying to secure a ceasefire for months but have failed to bring Israel and Hamas to a final agreement. Two obstacles have been particularly difficult: Israel's demand to keep forces on the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt and the specifics of exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The United States has said a ceasefire deal in Gaza could reduce tensions in the Middle East amid fears the conflict could spread.

Biden on May 31 presented a three-phase ceasefire proposal that Israel agreed to at the time. As talks hit obstacles, officials said for weeks that a new proposal would be presented soon.

The latest bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent assault on the enclave has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.