After the suspension of the talks held in Cairo aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed on Saturday that a truce is possible tomorrow.
Prisoner Exchange
Detailing further, the White House chief stated during a fundraising event held outside Seattle in Washington at the home of a former Microsoft executive, that a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip could be possible tomorrow, conditional on Hamas returning the Israeli prisoners taken on October 7th.
Biden added, despite avoiding the topic on three similar occasions, that “if Hamas releases the prisoners, there will be a ceasefire tomorrow,” according to France Press.
These developments come at a time when Egypt has called on Hamas and Israel to show flexibility to reach an agreement on the truce and the exchange of Israeli prisoners for Palestinian detainees. The indirect talk session in Cairo concluded on Thursday with the departure of representatives from Israel and Hamas. A senior Egyptian source mentioned that Egyptian efforts and those of mediators are ongoing to bridge the views between the two sides. Meanwhile, Hamas announced on Friday that Israel’s rejection of the latest truce and prisoner exchange proposal in the Gaza Strip has reset the situation, prompting them to reconsider their negotiating strategy.
Ceasefire and Negotiations
It’s noted that Hamas had agreed on Monday to a truce proposal presented by mediators, while the U.S. State Department confirmed that the movement did not agree to the deal but sent proposals as part of the negotiations.
Israel has confirmed that this proposal is far from its demands, and reiterated its opposition to a permanent ceasefire as long as Hamas is not defeated, according to its claims. Hamas and Israel have so far failed to reach a ceasefire agreement despite repeated rounds of indirect negotiations. The war erupted on October 7th following an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel, resulting in the death of more than 1170 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli official data. Over 250 people were kidnapped, 128 of whom are still detained in Gaza; 36 of them have died, according to Israeli officials. In response to the attack, Israel vowed to “eliminate” Hamas and has since been conducting a destructive bombing campaign and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 34,971 casualties, mostly civilians, according to the latest tally from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
