US President Joe Biden expressed optimism on Friday about the ongoing ceasefire negotiations involving the US, Qatar, and Egypt. Speaking to reporters, Biden indicated that only a few remaining issues needed to be resolved to reach an agreement. However, this positive outlook was met with skepticism by Hamas’s spokesman in Lebanon, Dr. Ahmad Abdulhadi, who rejected the notion that significant progress had been made.
Dr. Abdulhadi criticized Biden’s comments as misleading, suggesting that the US administration is attempting to create a facade of progress in order to manage media perceptions and prevent further regional conflict. “The mediators told us that the disagreed points haven’t been resolved,” Abdulhadi stated. He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of introducing additional conditions that have complicated the negotiations further.
The ongoing conflict remains intense, with recent reports of escalating violence. On Saturday, fresh Israeli airstrikes were reported in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. In Gaza, an airstrike on a house and a nearby warehouse in Zawaida resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people, including a family of 15. In Lebanon, an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nabatieh killed at least 10 people, including a mother and her two children. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed targeting a Hezbollah weapons storage facility but stated it was verifying the report regarding Gaza casualties. Additionally, Israeli Army Radio reported that an airstrike in Jenin, West Bank, killed four people.
The violence has intensified calls for resolution, with families of the 115 hostages still missing in Gaza holding a protest in Tel Aviv. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak criticized current Prime Minister Netanyahu, calling for his impeachment over the handling of the hostage crisis.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have jointly announced a new proposal aimed at bridging gaps identified in the past week’s talks. The updated proposal is intended to facilitate a rapid implementation of a ceasefire. Negotiations, which concluded in Qatar on Friday, will resume in Cairo next week as mediators continue to refine the proposal.
Palestinian health authorities reported that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which followed an attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis, has resulted in 40,074 Palestinian deaths to date.