Gaza ceasefire closer than ever, says Biden

KABUL (Pajhwok): US President Joe Biden is optimistic about a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, asking the parties involved not to undercut truce efforts, the BBC reported on Saturday.

“We are closer than we’ve ever been” to a ceasefire in the embattled Palestinian enclave, the US leader said after the latest round of negotiations.

Biden added he was dispatching his Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel to continue the "intensive efforts to conclude this agreement".

Earlier, the US, Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement they had floated a proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal narrowing the gaps between Israel and Hamas.

Biden claimed winning support for the proposal from the leaders of Qatar and Egypt during separate phone calls.

For his part, Blinken said he was more hopeful than ever that a deal was in reach. But if he disclosed why, he would "give it away", the diplomat told reporters.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military launched strikes in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

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