Hamas is preventing a ceasefire deal, US President Joe Biden told the media in Italy as the Islamic terror group continued to insist on amendments which US and Israeli officials found unworkable.
“I’ve laid out on an approach that has been endorsed by the UN Security Council, by the G7, by the Israelis,” Biden said referring to the three-phase which he first unveiled on May 31.
“The biggest hang-up so far is Hamas refusing to sign on even though they have submitted something similar,” he further said, adding that it remained to be seen whether the deal would come to fruition.
“We’re going to continue to push,” Biden said, while in Italy for a meeting of the G7, where he discussed the situation with leaders from several countries, including Canada, Japan, France, Great Britain, and Germany.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken blamed Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar for the absence of a deal. “It’s time for the haggling to stop; it’s time for a ceasefire to start,” he said.
Blinken said that here’s “one man who’s probably somewhere deep underground in Gaza for Hamas, Mr. Sinwar, who’s making all of these decisions. Well, he’s relatively safe underground. The people that he purports to represent, they’re suffering every day. So if he has their interests at heart, he will come to a conclusion to bring this to a conclusion.”
