Biden’s Hopes For Gaza Ceasefire Slip Further Out Of Reach As Hamas Abruptly Makes New Demands

President Joe Biden’s hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza are slipping further out of grasp amid new demands from Hamas, The Washington Post reported.

The months-long drive to get a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — and secure the release of American hostages in Gaza — has hit several obstacles, mostly related to terms that neither side has been able to agree to. With the prospects of a ceasefire deal already looking dim, Hamas’ new demands for terms in a possible deal has thrown the Biden administration’s plans off balance, and officials are starting to worry that a ceasefire may not even be doable, the Post reported.

The administration, which has put forward or endorsed several ceasefire proposals already, has recently been planning to make a new “take it or leave it” proposal that included provisions to help close the gap between Israel and Hamas’ demands for a deal, according to the Post. But the administration is indefinitely delaying presenting the proposal after Hamas recently announced it wanted a deal to include the release of more Palestinian prisoners higher than the number agreed to.

“Just because there isn’t an alternative doesn’t mean this strategy is working,” Ivo Daalder, a former ambassador to NATO, told the Post of the administration’s efforts to get a deal done. “The amount of talent we’ve deployed to get where we are, which is nowhere, is really remarkable, and at some point you need to decide it doesn’t work.”

Some of Biden’s advisers want him to put more pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get a deal done, according to the Post. The question of whether to publicly call out Netanyahu to secure a deal is being debated inside the White House, though it’s unlikely such a move would be carried out, according to several people familiar with discussions who spoke to the Post.