The Biden administration continues to pursue efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, despite key mediator Qatar suspending its involvement, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters on Tuesday.
"We're continuing to pursue a number of initiatives to secure the release of hostages. That work is ongoing. We have not given up hope," said Patel, as quoted by AFP.
"It's critical to us to get a deal done as soon as possible, especially so that we can bring the remaining hostages home to their families," he added.
The diplomatic effort to achieve a hostage release deal faced a setback on the weekend when Qatar announced it would pause its mediation role until both parties demonstrate greater commitment.
Qatar said Saturday that the energy-rich emirate would suspend its mediation until both Israel and Hamas "show their willingness and determination."
Saturday’s reports said that in addition to suspending its involvement as mediator, Qatar had also asked Hamas’ leadership to leave the country, but Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari rejected those reports.
Regarding the Hamas office in Qatar, Patel stated, "We have, going back as far as we all can remember, been explicitly clear with countries around the world that certainly it can no longer be business as usual with Hamas."
Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, has mediated recent efforts to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
The United States had been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that President Joe Biden first laid out in May, but Hamas rejected that proposal and every other proposal that has been presented to it.
Recently, Egypt publicly proposed a two-day ceasefire deal in which four Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for terrorist prisoners held in Israel and in the ten days following, negotiations would be held regarding a more extensive deal.
Hamas initially said it does not support a limited timeframe of several days in which the organization would return some of the hostages and afterwards the fighting would continue. Later, sources in Hamas told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the terrorist organization is willing to consider Egypt’s proposal as well as other proposals.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made clear on Sunday, during an appearance on CBS News' Face the Nation, that Hamas was at fault for the failure of the negotiations and not Israel.