Gaza Ceasefire Could Arrive by Next Monday

President Joe Biden said that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be begin in roughly a week.

While stopping by a Manhattan ice cream shop with Seth Meyers for a taping of his late night NBC show Monday, reporters asked the president if he had a time frame for a possible ceasefire.

“I hope by the end of the weekend,” Biden replied. “My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close, we’re not done yet,” he added. “My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire.”

Biden’s remarks arrive after Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that has called for the ceasefire, demonstrated inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the NBCUniversal Building where Meyers’ show takes place.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Biden was “warming” to the idea of being more publicly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his country’s assault on Gaza continues. Biden and the prime minister have known each other for over four decades, and the president has long been a supporter of Israel. However, Biden recently signaled a potential shift in his view of Israel’s military actions when he said that the “conduct of [Israel’s] response” in Gaza was “over the top.”

“A lot of innocent people are starving,” Biden said. “A lot of innocent people are in trouble and they’re dying. And it’s got to stop.”

In November, hundreds of Biden appointees and government staffers representing over 40 U.S. agencies signed a letter to the his administration calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s retaliatory siege against Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, which killed 1,400 Israelis, has now killed more than 29,000 Palestinians. According to The New York Times, over 400 individuals anonymously demanded that the Biden’s administration call more forcefully for de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The letter called on Biden to “urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.” 

President Joe Biden said that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be begin in roughly a week.

While stopping by a Manhattan ice cream shop with Seth Meyers for a taping of his late night NBC show Monday, reporters asked the president if he had a time frame for a possible ceasefire.

“I hope by the end of the weekend,” Biden replied. “My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close, we’re not done yet,” he added. “My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire.”

Biden’s remarks arrive after Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that has called for the ceasefire, demonstrated inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the NBCUniversal Building where Meyers’ show takes place.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Biden was “warming” to the idea of being more publicly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his country’s assault on Gaza continues. Biden and the prime minister have known each other for over four decades, and the president has long been a supporter of Israel. However, Biden recently signaled a potential shift in his view of Israel’s military actions when he said that the “conduct of [Israel’s] response” in Gaza was “over the top.”

“A lot of innocent people are starving,” Biden said. “A lot of innocent people are in trouble and they’re dying. And it’s got to stop.”

In November, hundreds of Biden appointees and government staffers representing over 40 U.S. agencies signed a letter to the his administration calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s retaliatory siege against Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas, which killed 1,400 Israelis, has now killed more than 29,000 Palestinians. According to The New York Times, over 400 individuals anonymously demanded that the Biden’s administration call more forcefully for de-escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The letter called on Biden to “urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”