Cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel likely to elude Biden

Cease-fire talks between Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israeli government have hit an impasse in recent days, Arab mediators said, making any deal unlikely before the end of the Biden administration.

- Summer Said & Carrie Keller-Lynn

Hamas—whose fighters, along with other Palestinians, kidnapped around 250 people from Israel during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that also left about 1,200 people dead—renewed its insistence that Israel commit to a permanent truce, something Israel has long ruled out.

The lack of progress is a blow to the president's team, which has invested substantial amounts of time and political capital pushing fruitlessly for an agreement. It is also a bitter disappointment to Palestinians in Gaza weary of more than a year of fighting and deprivation. They have called on social media for Hamas to accept a deal that would help end the war, even if it doesn't achieve other goals like freeing thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel's jails.

In Israel, families of the hostages are putting heavy pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a deal that secures their release, arguing that every day of captivity risks their lives and well-being.

Hopes for a deal in Gaza had risen after Lebanese militia Hezbollah acceded to a cease-fire with Israel on that front in late November. The deal left Hamas's battered ranks isolated in their fight, and mediators hoped it could create momentum for another agreement.

Hamas at the time told mediators it was willing to defer discussion over a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza until later rounds of negotiations, raising hopes that at least some hostages could be released in exchange for a pause in hostilities.