On Monday, President Joe Biden said a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could take effect by next Monday, giving new hope to those who advocated for a pause in the fighting to allow the militant group to release its prisoners.
The US president made the remarks during an unexpected visit to the Van Leeuwen ice cream shop near 30 Rock in New York.
Biden Hopes For Gaza Ceasefire, Hostage Deal by Next Monday
During the taping of the NBC program 'Late Night with Seth Meyers,' Biden was asked about the potential for a ceasefire and pressed specifically on when one could take effect. The president said he hoped it would be by the end of the weekend.
He informed the reporters traveling with him that his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, had claimed that negotiations for a ceasefire were "not done yet" but were already "close."
"My hope is by next Monday, we'll have a ceasefire," he added.
Biden's comments made his remarks shortly after a serving member of the US Air Force died after setting himself on fire outside Israel's embassy in Washington in protest of the four-month-old conflict, which was sparked by the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, over 29,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel's retaliatory strikes, which the country's government claims are needed to drive out the militant group from the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, the war resulted in millions of Palestinians lacking access to basic needs, including water, food, shelter, and medical aid.
Support for Biden has drastically decreased among Arab-American and Muslim voters in the US as a result of Israel's military response, which the Biden administration has supported.
Some Arab-American leaders have advocated for voters to choose "uncommitted" on their ballots ahead of the Democratic presidential primary in the Wolverine State to tell Biden that they would not support him for re-election unless he calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Netanyahu Rejects Hostage Deal
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he would not agree to a deal that would release the remaining hostages held in Gaza until Hamas complies with its demands and that Israel will continue its campaign to destroy the militant group's remaining battalions in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip.
Speaking on CBS's 'Face the Nation,' Netanyahu claimed that regardless of any agreement to release some of the 130 remaining hostages during Hamas-led strikes on October 7, Israel's military would have to invade Rafah on Gaza's southern border with Egypt. He added that Israel could defeat the group completely and that the most intense phase of the conflict "would be weeks away from completion" if the operation there begins.
Israel has come under intense pressure internationally to halt its plans to move into Rafah due to the massive number of civilians who have sought refuge there in already difficult humanitarian conditions. Biden administration officials said that they do not want Israel's military to start operations before it establishes a precise plan to protect civilians.
