President Joe Biden said a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is imminent as negotiators work this week to hammer out the details of a potential deal.
During a trip to New York on Monday, Biden told reporters that a cease-fire could be in place as soon as next week.
“My national security advisor tells me that we’re close. We’re close. We’re not done yet,” Biden said. “My hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a cease-fire.”
Tensions between Israel and Hamas were reignited in October after Hamas killed more than 1,000 people in large-scale terrorist attacks and kidnapped 200 people.
In the months since, the death toll in the Palestinian territory of Gaza has topped 29,000 amid ongoing Israeli attacks, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Representatives from both sides are meeting this week to hash out a cease-fire that would pause the fighting in Gaza for six weeks and ensure the return of the remaining Israeli hostages.
Members of the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies held a round of talks in Doha with Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Monday.
Representatives from Hamas also met with mediators in the city, signaling that talks are further along than they have been since the war began.
Earlier this month, Israel rejected a Hamas counter-offer that would have implemented a four-and-a-half-month cease-fire, calling the plan “delusional” after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Biden Administration has doubled down on efforts to secure a cease-fire this month ahead of the start of Ramadan in two weeks.
Talks are expected to continue on Tuesday.
