Joe Biden Has Not Given Up On Realizing A Gaza Armistice Agreement

US President Joe Biden/PHOTO via Instagram @potus

JAKARTA - United States (US) President Joe Biden is determined to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage-taking deal with Hamas while also trying to ease tensions on Israel's border with Lebanon.

"He really hasn't given up," said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Biden will gather with world leaders gathered in New York to seek a ceasefire and a hostage-taking deal in Gaza and prevent a massive war in the Middle East.

He acknowledged the challenges in reaching an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Sullivan said Hamas and Sinwar "don't want to reach an agreement."

"But we are determined to keep doing it," Sullivan said.

The United States has been trying to quell tensions in the region since the Hamas attack on Israeli territory of Gaza on October 7, 2023, which led to nearly a year-long Israeli retaliation on the coast.

The heated conflict with Hezbollah on Israel's northern border has continued to escalate since October 7 and is now on the rise, he said.

"But we have avoided the spike that has occurred before, and I believe that we can still find a way forward to deescalating between Israel and crossing the northern border between Israel and Lebanon and producing diplomatic solutions that allow people to return to Israel. their homes," Sullivan said.