Joe Biden told reporters he was optimistic about the prospects for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip (file).

Washington:

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement on the release of the hostages, which he said are now in sight, but he also warned that the matter is “far from over”.

KEY QUOTES

“No one in the region should take actions that 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. It’s far from over,” he said on Friday night. “There are a few more problems. I think we have a chance,” he added, without elaborating.

When asked when a ceasefire would come into effect if an agreement was reached, Biden said: “That remains to be seen.”

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Israel stresses that peace can only be achieved through the destruction of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, while Hamas says it will only accept a permanent ceasefire, not a temporary one.

Ceasefire talks in Doha were suspended on Friday. Negotiators will meet again next week. In a joint statement, the US, Qatar and Egypt said Washington had put forward a new proposal. Washington, Israel’s main ally, says a ceasefire will reduce the growing risk of an escalation of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Biden originally presented a three-stage ceasefire proposal in a speech on May 31, but mediators repeatedly encountered obstacles.

CONTEXT

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli sources.

Israel’s subsequent attack on the Hamas-ruled enclave killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and displaced almost the entire population of 2.3 million, according to the local health ministry. This triggered a famine and led to accusations of genocide before the International Court of Justice, which Israel denies.

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