Biden Says "We're Close": A Ceasefire in Gaza May Start on Monday

US President Joe Biden shared his optimism on Monday for a potential ceasefire in Gaza, expressing his hope that it could begin by the start of the following week. A humanitarian crisis has been escalating in the Palestinian territory, prompting representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, France, and other countries to mediate between Israel and Hamas in search of a halt to the ongoing conflict and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

There is a possibility that a deal might involve the exchange of numerous hostages for several hundred Palestinian detainees currently held by Israel. When questioned during a visit to New York about the commencement of such an agreement, Biden responded, "My national security advisor tells me that we're close, we're close, we're not done yet." He added, "I hope that by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire."

Representatives from multiple parties, excluding Hamas rulers in Gaza, convened in Paris over the weekend and reached an understanding regarding the basic contours of a potential hostage deal for a temporary ceasefire, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who informed CNN on Sunday. Following the Paris meeting, experts from Egypt, Qatar, and the US, along with Israeli and Hamas representatives, gathered in Doha in recent days for talks aimed at securing a truce before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as reported by state-linked Egyptian media.

An AFP source within Hamas revealed that "some new amendments" had been proposed on contentious issues, but "Israel did not present any substantive position on the terms of the ceasefire and the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the demand for troop withdrawal as "delusional" and stated that any ceasefire deal would merely delay a military incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where approximately 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the fighting in other parts of Gaza.

An unnamed Israeli official told news site Ynet on Monday that the "direction (of the talks) is positive," and Israeli media reported that military and intelligence officials would be traveling to Qatar for further discussions. The French presidency announced that Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who previously helped broker a one-week truce in November, is expected to visit Paris this week. Sheikh Tamim has already met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha to discuss efforts towards "reaching an immediate and permanent ceasefire agreement" in Gaza, as stated by the official Qatar News Agency.

According to the ministry, Israel's military campaign has resulted in the death of at least 29,782 people in Gaza, predominantly women and children. Meanwhile, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack that resulted in the death of 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.