A Gaza cease-fire looks distant under the Biden administration, says a top US official

A senior U.S. official claimed that achieving a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will be very difficult under the Biden administration. The Wall Street Journal reported this, although the government continues to mediate between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group.

An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to express himself more freely, told the cited media outlet, "No deal is imminent. I’m not sure it ever gets done."

John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesman, expressed similar sentiments. He acknowledged that negotiations have stalled over the past week.

In late August, the president sent Brett McGurk, top Middle East advisor, to finalize details of the deal in Qatar.

What is preventing a cease-fire in Gaza?

According to testimony gathered by the WSJ, one of the biggest obstacles lies in the proportion of Palestinian prisoners Israel should release in exchange for each hostage. Hamas even increased its demands in terms of prisoners to be released and did so shortly after executing six hostages.

At the same time, they reported that the terrorist group does not end up accepting a deal, even if Israel agrees to accept all demands.

Another issue to be taken into account is the increasing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. These tensions are nearing high levels after the detonations of the last few days, which injured hundreds of terrorists.

"The US officials from the White House, State Department and Pentagon tell the Journal that the possibility of a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah complicates diplomacy between Israel and Hamas. Washington has long argued that the surest way to restore calm along the Blue Line is by securing a ceasefire in Gaza, and Hezbollah has asserted that it would halt its near-daily attacks against Israel if the fighting in the coastal enclave ends," The Times of Israel noted.