US President Joe Biden Hopes For Possible Ceasefire in Gaza Next Week

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Joe Biden said on Monday he hopes to have a ceasefire in Gaza starting next Monday.

"My national security adviser tells me that we're close. We're close. We're not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire," Biden told reporters during a visit to New York.

Despite being unconfirmed by the White House, Biden's statement is quite significant. The claim was relayed a few hours before Michigan, housing the biggest Arab-American population, cast their votes.

Some Arab-American voters have stressed their refusal to reelect Biden for his betrayal of Palestinians in Gaza, claiming that the candidate was no better than the Republican-backed Donald Trump. 

The White House has been working on ceasefire negotiations amid growing pressure from progressives and Palestinian allies.

NBC News has reported that Qatar is mediating talks between Israel and Hamas this week, and ceasefire negotiations have taken place among the US, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt in Paris.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that representatives "came to an understanding" about what "the basic contours of a hostage deal for a temporary cease-fire would look like."

"There will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas because ultimately, they will have to agree to release the hostages," Sullivan said in an interview with CNN.

However, he declined to divulge specifics because the deal was still being negotiated. "That work is underway, and we hope that in the coming days, we can drive to a point where there is actually a firm and final agreement on this issue, but we will have to wait and see."

Israel’s military is planning a ground offensive in Rafah, where about 1.5 million people are taking refuge after being displaced from across Gaza. Earlier Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the military has proposed a plan for ‘evacuating civilians’, a move described by many as an ethnic cleansing, a war crime.

Earlier Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that if there were a temporary ceasefire, Israel would "then continue fighting until the very last hostages return."

Hostilities picked up immensely on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel in what is called the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. Nearly 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed by Israel since then, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

During a previous weeklong truce that ended on Dec. 1, more than 100 hostages held in Gaza were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

REUTERS | NBC NEWS

Editor's Choice: 77 Visa-free and Visa on Arrival Countries for Indonesian Passport Holders

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News