US PRESIDENT Joe Biden said on Sunday (18/8) that he believes a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is still possible.
“The talks are ongoing. We’re not giving up. (It’s) still possible,” Biden said, as reported by Anadolu, Monday (19/8).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel to push for a ceasefire and a deal to free hostages in Gaza.
This marks his ninth trip to the region since the Israel-Hamas war began last October.
Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7 killed about 1,200 people, with about 250 taken hostage.
In addition to killing more than 40,000 Palestinians since then, Israel’s military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of starvation.
Read also: President Joe Biden: Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal Hampered by Hamas Rejection
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have demanded that Israel comply with previously agreed terms under the Biden-backed proposal and establish a mechanism for their implementation rather than continuing negotiations while attacks continue.
The May 27 Principles, referred to by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, involve a proposal to the mediators—Egypt, Qatar and the US—that Israel retain control of the Philadelphia Corridor and the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Biden said in May that Israel was proposing a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a ceasefire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and reconstruction of Gaza.
For months, mediators have been trying to reach a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The latest round of talks ended in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Friday (8/16) without a breakthrough, but the US put forward a new proposal that builds on areas of agreement and bridges remaining gaps in a way that would allow for swift implementation of the deal. (I-2)
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