Biden administration has all but paused push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal

With the Biden administration essentially pausing work on ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Gaza, Israel’s fresh assaults on Hezbollah in Lebanon this week are adding another layer of complication, making prospects for a near-term deal all the more difficult – if not impossible – at least while the bombs are falling.

With the Biden administration essentially pausing work on ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Gaza, Israel’s fresh assaults on Hezbollah in Lebanon this week are adding another layer of complication, making prospects for a near-term deal all the more difficult – if not impossible – at least while the bombs are falling. In recent days, senior US officials had largely stopped making a vigorous push on the ceasefire negotiations, sources told CNN, having determined there is currently no political will on either side – Hamas or Israel’s – to end the conflict. Even as President Joe Biden and top aides refuse to abandon the effort entirely, a senior Democrat close to the White House summed up the sentiment among some officials involved in those deliberations this way: “We can’t want this more than they want it.” This person also cited a famous line from former Secretary of State James Baker, who in 1990 famously said in a message directed at the Israeli government about a Middle East peace deal: “When you’re serious about this, call us.” Another quote circulating among American officials as they assess the stalled talks is George Mitchell’s description of the process that eventually brought about the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland: “We had 700 days of failure and one day of success.” Ending the Gaza conflict is Biden’s top foreign policy goal as he nears the end of his one-term presidency, but the stalled ceasefire talks are threatening to sink the president’s other priorities in the Middle East.