US president says cease-fire deal is 'in hands of' Hamas

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) – On a possible Gaza cease-fire deal, the ball in now in Hamas’ court, said US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

"It’s in the hands of Hamas right now. Israelis have been cooperating. There’s been a rational offer. We will know in a couple of days what’s gonna happen. We need a cease-fire," Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Hagerstown, Maryland, northwest of Washington, DC.

When asked whether a cease-fire is possible by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts next week, Biden said: "There’s got to be a cease-fire. If we get to (the) circumstance that it continues to Ramadan … it’s gonna be very, very dangerous. So we are trying very, very hard to get a cease-fire."

Biden also said that he’s working very hard to get more aid delivered to the Gaza Strip, where the population faces an acute risk of famine, adding: "We must get more aid into Gaza."

Asked about his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said: "Like it's always been."

There have been growing reports of friction between Biden and Netanyahu, with the US president unhappy over how Israel is waging the war, especially the large number of civilian casualties.

The US urged Hamas on Monday to agree to a hostage release deal with Israel which would also include a six-week cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an attack by Hamas last Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv said killed some 1,200 people.

More than 30,600 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.