President Joe Biden has also expressed optimism about a ceasefire in Gaza, declaring that ‘we have never been this close’. After recent meetings, Biden agreed that the Secretary of State would be dispatched to Israel to further enhance the existing talks.
The fears of a revengeful Iran have come to the fore after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Biden called on all regional parties not to make any moves that are likely to frustrate the cease-fire negotiations. However, the opposing party, Hamas, has opposed any such idea of reaching the above agreement.
The three mostly entail a major military operation in Gaza that was launched after an unparalleled attack on October 7 that claimed about 1,200 lives and took 251 people hostage. The health ministry in Gaza, controlled by Hamas, said that more than 40 thousand people have died in the strip since the start of the war.
The U. S., Qatar, and Egypt recently presented a plan to act as a mediator in a bid to generate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas with a view of releasing the hostages. Israel continues to demand that any cessation of the fighting will entail the freeing of the rest of the hostages.
With mounting pressure for a diplomatic solution, the mediators have labeled the recent meeting as ‘serious and constructive.’ While technical working committees are to fine-tune more features, the political directors’ meeting will take place in Cairo soon. Before a deal can be said to be formal, much still needs to be accomplished.
