Biden: ‘My hope is that by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire’

U.S. President Joe Biden said he hopes that there will be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by “next Monday.”

“Well I hope by the beginning of the weekend. The end of the weekend. My national security adviser tells me that we’re close. We’re close. We’re not done yet. And my hope is that by next Monday [March 4] we’ll have a ceasefire,” Biden told reporters.

Biden also said that there has been an agreement with the Israelis that they would “not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out” and that it seems as if the IDF has scaled down its activities in Rafah.

“They have to, and they have made a commitment to me that they’re going to see to it that there’s an ability to evacuate significant portions of Rafah before they go and take out the remainder of Hamas.

A Hamas official poured cold water on Biden’s enthusiasm over the prospects of a deal, telling Reuters that his comments are premature and that there are “Still big gaps that need to be bridged.”

Reuters also reported that Hamas is currently studying the details of the outline for a ceasefire, which was discussed between the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Israel in Paris over the weekend.

The new deal reportedly includes a 40-day truce, in return for the release of 40 hostages (women, children, elderly and ill) and 400 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.

500 trucks with humanitarian aid as well as thousands of tents for internally displaced Palestinians would also enter the Gaza Strip, according to Reuters.

Al Jazeera reported that Israel has agreed to allow a gradual return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, except young en “of recruitment age.”

An Israeli delegation arrived in Qatar on Monday to enter a new round of negotiations over the final details of the deal, according to Israeli media.

Israel is insisting that any ceasefire be temporary and that the eradication of Hamas is inevitable.

134 hostages are still held in Gaza, some of whom are in dire need of medical assistance, while some have been sexually assaulted, according to testimonies from former hostages released in the November ceasefire.