US President Joe Biden has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to finalize a ceasefire deal.

A Hamas official involved in the ceasefire negotiations with Israel has informed Turkish Foreign Ministry officials that the United States might be genuinely trying to broker a ceasefire due to regional security concerns and upcoming presidential elections, according to the Anadolu news agency.

“Due to security concerns in the region and the upcoming presidential elections, the US may genuinely be trying to secure a ceasefire agreement,” diplomatic sources on Tuesday reported the official as having said.

However, the official stressed that the US is not putting pressure on Israel and that the American media is not reflecting the “real situation,” and instead offering overly “optimistic” reports.

The official revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuously “introducing new conditions,” particularly regarding the “Philadelphi Corridor” and “the Rafah border crossing,” which has led to repeated setbacks.

“Every time we go back to square one, and a new process starts,” the official said, adding that Israel is not negotiating but imposing.

‘Losing Hope’

“With this approach, we are losing hope for a ceasefire,” the official added, noting that negotiations are currently focused on three key issues: the Philadelphi Corridor, the Rafah border crossing, and a prisoner exchange.

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The US has warned that it will continue negotiations for two more weeks but will withdraw “if no agreement is reached,” a move the Hamas official described as “extremely dangerous” as it risks returning to the starting point.

“We said we would negotiate within the framework of July 2. However, Israel is retreating from the May 24-25 document and Biden’s plan approved by the UN Security Council. We cannot accept this,” the official said.

The official also highlighted the dire situation in Gaza, where people “cannot find food and medicine,” with “only flour and dry goods” available.

‘Not Enough’ – Biden

US President Joe Biden meanwhile said that Netanyahu is not doing enough to finalize a ceasefire deal.

Asked by reporters outside the White House on Monday whether the Israeli prime minister was doing enough to secure a deal, Biden said “No.”

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On whether he was planning to present a final hostage deal to both sides, Biden answered “We’re very close to that.”

He was also asked why he thought the new deal would be successful in a way that the others were not, to which Biden replied: “Hope springs eternal.”

Staggering Death Toll

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,786 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,224 wounded.  Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

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Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(Anadolu, PC)