US believes Gaza ceasefire deal unlikely under Biden: report | Israel-Palestine conflict news
The Wall Street Journal quotes several US officials as saying they are skeptical that a ceasefire can be achieved before January.
US officials believe a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is unlikely to be reached before President Joe Biden leaves office in January, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The newspaper on Thursday cited senior officials at the White House, State Department and Pentagon without naming them.
“There is no deal imminent. I'm not sure it will ever happen,” one of the US officials told the paper.
Officials told the Journal there were two key obstacles to a deal: the number of Palestinian prisoners Israel must release in exchange for each captive held by Hamas, and rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
Publicly, officials in Washington have stressed that they will continue to work toward a deal.
“I can tell you that we do not believe that agreement is falling apart,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Thursday before the Wall Street Journal report was published.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said two weeks ago that 90 percent of the ceasefire agreement had been reached.
Washington has been working for months with mediators Qatar and Egypt to try to bring Israel and Hamas to a final agreement.
Biden presented a three-phase ceasefire proposal on May 31, saying Israel had accepted it. The United States will hold a presidential election on November 5, with Vice President Kamala Harris facing Republican Donald Trump.
The latest bloodshed began nearly a year ago, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,139 people and taking more than 200 prisoners.
Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-ruled territory has killed at least 41,272 Palestinians and injured 95,551. It has also led to the displacement of almost the entire population (2.3 million people), a hunger crisis and a genocide case at the International Court.
