Biden to launch Gaza ceasefire push right away, adviser says

WASHINGTON: US president Joe Biden will launch a renewed drive Wednesday for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal after Israel and Hezbollah began a truce in Lebanon, his national security adviser said.

Jake Sullivan said Hamas faces increased pressure to cut a deal now that Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is no longer fighting in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group.

Biden spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu right before the US and French brokered truce with Hezbollah was announced Tuesday and they agreed to try again for an elusive Gaza truce, Sullivan said.

“President Biden intends to begin that work today by having his envoys engage with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region,” Sullivan told MSNBC.

“We believe that this is the beginning of an opportunity for a more stable Middle East in which Israel’s security is assured and US interests are secured,” he added.

The Israel-Hezbollah deal was a rare boost for Biden as he prepares to leave the White House and hand over to Donald Trump on Jan 20.

Biden said on X on Wednesday that “over the coming days the United States will make another push” for a Gaza deal, echoing comments he made in his announcement Tuesday.

The outgoing US leader said the aim was to “achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power.”

Biden said on Tuesday that Washington would also push for a long-explored deal to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“Peace is possible,” Biden said in his speech at the White House. “As long as that is the case, I will not for a single moment stop working to achieve it.”

US envoy Amos Hochstein, who was closely involved in the negotiations for the Israel-Hezbollah deal, said it created an opportunity for a similar agreement in Gaza.

“We firmly believe that the Lebanon deal now opens that door,” Hochstein said in a briefing with the US Jewish community on Wednesday.

After the truce with Hezbollah, Israel was now fighting a “one-front war”, he said.

“There’s no cavalry coming from the north anymore for Hamas. So this is a moment where Hamas needs to take the step to come to the table,” he added.

Biden’s administration was also “in touch” with the incoming Trump team on the issue, he said.