February 27, 2024, 00:56 GMT
Updated 1 hour ago
video caption,
Watch: Biden spoke to reporters at an ice cream parlor in New York
US President Joe Biden hopes for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza by Monday.
His comments come amid reports of some progress in indirect negotiations between Israeli and Hamas officials.
This included aid deliveries to Gaza and the release of additional hostages captured during the Hamas attacks on October 7.
Israel has not commented and Hamas officials have suggested that the two sides are not as close to a ceasefire agreement as Mr. Biden has suggested.
Qatar, which acted as mediator alongside Egypt, said it was “strongly” pushing for an agreement and was “optimistic” but had nothing to announce.
Israel launched a large-scale air and ground campaign in Gaza after Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel.
The attackers also took 253 people hostage, some of whom have since been released.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says at least 29,878 people have been killed in the territory since then – including 96 deaths in the last 24 hours – as well as 70,215 wounded.
According to Portal news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the talks, Hamas is still studying a draft framework drawn up by France that would include a 40-day pause in all military operations and the exchange of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons for Israeli hostages , at a ratio of 10 to one.
“We are close,” President Biden told reporters in New York on Monday. “We are not finished yet. I hope we have a ceasefire by next Monday.”
On NBC's “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” which aired later, the president said Israel was ready to pause its attack during Ramadan if an agreement was reached.
The Islamic holy month begins around March 10th.
“Ramadan is coming and the Israelis have agreed that they will not engage in activities even during Ramadan to give us time to get all the hostages out,” Mr. Biden said.
However, a Hamas official told the BBC: “The priority for us in Hamas is not the exchange of prisoners, but ending the war.”
“After all this loss of life and property, it is not logical to accept an offer that does not lead to a full ceasefire, the return of the displaced and the reconstruction of Gaza.”
Last week, the US – Israel's main ally – was widely criticized for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Instead, it proposed its own resolution for a temporary ceasefire “as soon as possible,” which also warned Israel against entering the southern Gaza town of Rafah “under the current circumstances.”
Israel is facing increasing international pressure not to launch an offensive in Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are seeking refuge, most of whom have fled fighting further north in the area.
“Too many innocent people are being killed,” Mr. Biden said on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “And Israel has slowed the attacks in Rafah. They have to. And they have made a commitment to me to ensure that large parts of Rafah can be evacuated before Hamas destroys the rest.”
On Sunday, Israel's prime minister's office said it had received plans from its military to evacuate civilians from areas such as Rafah.
Mr Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS on Sunday that Israeli forces would eventually launch an invasion of Rafah regardless of a temporary ceasefire agreement, stressing: “We cannot leave the last Hamas stronghold without taking care of it take care.”
“If we have a deal, it will be a little delayed,” he added. “But it will happen. If we don’t have a deal, we’ll do it anyway.”
In another development, Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh resigned on Monday along with his government, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank.
President Mahmoud Abbas accepted his decision, which could pave the way for a technocratic government.
Mr Abbas is under pressure from the US to reform the Palestinian Authority so that it can govern Gaza after the end of the Israel-Hamas war.
Last week, Mr. Netanyahu presented a vision for the territory that made no mention of a role for the PA.