Biden says Gaza cease-fire may happen later than Monday

President Joe Biden said he remains hopeful about the prospects for a temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, but that it’s unlikely to begin by Monday as he originally sought.

“Hope springs eternal. I was on the telephone with the people in the region. I’m still working on it. Probably not by Monday, but I’m hopeful,” Biden told reporters Thursday at the White House before departing for Texas.

Biden added that chaos surrounding an aid convoy in Gaza would affect talks between the two sides. A deal likely would see fighting stop for an extended period of time to allow for the release of hostages and for more humanitarian supplies to enter. He said his administration was looking into the incident.

Biden this week expressed hope that negotiators were making progress in talks and that a cease-fire could take effect by Monday. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said last weekend that representatives had agreed on the “broad contours” of a deal.

The president spoke after scores of Palestinians were killed and injured on Thursday as food trucks tried to deliver humanitarian aid in northern Gaza.

An eyewitness, Mohammed al-Shouli, described a chaotic scene on the ground, telling Bloomberg News in a phone interview that thousands of people had gathered to wait for the convoy and began to swarm the trucks as they started passing an Israeli checkpoint around 4 a.m.

The incident — which saw shootings, people stumbling and falling, and others running away with aid — lasted for about half an hour before the trucks were emptied, he said.

Israel’s military said it was reviewing the incident. “Gazan residents surrounded the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered. During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling,” the military said in a statement.

The violence comes as the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are seeking to broker a temporary pause in the war.

Israel’s war in Gaza to root out Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union, is nearing the end of its fifth month.

The war was ignited on Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the terrorists seized around 250 hostages. Hamas and other terrorists are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most of the other captives during a November cease-fire.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to 30,035. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures.