Biden says no Gaza cease-fire deal soon, mediators work on gaps between Israel, Hamas

BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy — President Joe Biden said Thursday he doesn’t expect to reach a cease-fire deal for Gaza in the near future, as an American-backed proposal with global support has not been fully embraced by Israel or Hamas terrorists.

Biden said international leaders had discussed the cease-fire at the Group of Seven summit in Italy, but when asked by reporters if a truce deal wound be reached soon, Biden replied simply, “No,” adding, “I haven’t lost hope.”

Earlier Thursday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan pushed back against assertions that Israel isn’t fully committed to the cease-fire plan.

“Israel has supplied this proposal. It has been sitting on the table for some time. Israel has not contradicted or walked that back,” Sullivan said. Hamas has responded to the plan by offering amendments, and Sullivan said the goal is “to figure out how we work to bridge the remaining gaps and get to a deal.”

The proposal’s three-phase plan would begin with a six-week cease-fire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would withdraw from populated areas and Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes. Aid distribution would also increase.

At the same time, negotiations would start over the second phase, which is to bring “a permanent end to hostilities” and “full withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Gaza in exchange for the release of all remaining hostages.

A major hitch for both sides appears to be the negotiations for the second phase. Phase three would see the launch of a reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of remains of deceased hostages.

“To this day they stand behind the proposal,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think that there is a contradiction in the Israeli position.”

Hamas says the requested changes aim to guarantee a permanent cease-fire and complete Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza. The cease-fire proposal announced by Biden includes those provisions, but Hamas has expressed wariness whether Israel will implement the terms.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that mediators would keep trying to close an elusive cease-fire deal.

“The goal is to try to bring this to a conclusion as rapidly as possible,” Sullivan told reporters Thursday.

Israel launched the war after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, in which terrorists stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.

Israel’s ensuing war against Hamas has killed more than 37,100 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.