US to start immediately on fresh push for Gaza ceasefire

President Joe Biden has said the US will make another push with regional powers for a ceasefire in Gaza, involving the release of hostages and the removal of Hamas from power.

His remarks on X come just hours after a ceasefire came into force in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, ending nearly 14 months of conflict.

Hamas said it hoped for a similar deal in Gaza but continues to reject Israel’s demands, which it perceives as surrender.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 injured in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

“Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power,” Biden said on X.

Hamas reacted positively to the Lebanon ceasefire.

“We appreciate the steadfastness of the brotherly Lebanese people, and their constant solidarity with the Palestinian people,” Hamas leader Basem Naim told the BBC.

The organisation has faced significant challenges, including an inability to convene its leadership since the killing of Yahya Sinwar by Israel.

Its leaders are now scattered across Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, and disconnected from those managing the hostages held in Gaza.

These hostages appear to be Hamas’s remaining leverage, as the group’s capacity to fight Israel has been very limited, and its popularity has significantly declined in Gaza.

Despite insisting on three conditions – an Israeli withdrawal, a permanent ceasefire and the reconstruction of Gaza – Hamas has indicated to mediators on many occasions its willingness to make substantial concessions.

For now Hamas remains unwilling to agree to terms it perceives as surrender, but it has little room for manoeuvre in the negotiations, as the gap between the two sides has become deeper and the sound of the guns will remain louder.