US President Joe Biden on Monday pledged to continue pushing for a deal that would see Hamas releasing the hostages it is holding in exchange for a six-week ceasefire in the fighting in Gaza.
“I will not let up pushing for a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, brings an immediate ceasefire to Gaza for at least six weeks, and allows for a surge of aid to the entire Gaza Strip,” he wrote in a post on X.
Biden has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza in recent weeks, even as Hamas has toughened its demands for a deal.
This past Friday, as he announced that the US will begin airdropping humanitarian aid into Gaza, Biden was critical of Israel for the lack of humanitarian aid entering the Strip.
“In addition to expanding deliveries by land, as I said, we’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses,” he said.
“Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere near enough… Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line,” the President said. “We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several. And I won’t stand by, we won’t let up and we’re… trying to pull out every stop we can to get more assistance in.”
Last Monday, Biden told reporters in New York that he hopes a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would allow for hostages to be released could take effect by early this week.
He later backtracked on those comments and acknowledged that, after talking with leaders in the region, he understood that it would take longer.