The Biden administration is said to be pressuring Jerusalem to accept a ceasefire proposal that would see a pause in the fighting in Gaza, but with no guarantees regarding the return of Israeli captives kidnapped on October 7th.

Washington’s push comes after a senior Hamas representative claimed that the terror group does not know which hostages are alive or dead, nor their physical location.

It’s unclear whether or not that statement is accurate, as later in the same interview the Hamas official said that such information about the hostages is “valuable” and should not be provided to Israel “for free.”

According to report by the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. is no longer pushing its Qatari interlocuters to frame the release of hostages as a precondition for a temporary stop to military action in the Strip.

Rather, Washington appears to now accept Hamas’ claim that a ceasefire is necessary in order to collect information about the hostages’ whereabouts and physical conditions.

Notably, Arabic-language newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that Hamas is continuing to play hardball, stating that they will only accept a ceasefire that goes beyond a pause in fighting, demanding

There is “no room for negotiations and agreements that do not ultimately lead to a halt to the entire war, and the complete withdrawal of the [IDF] army from the Gaza Strip,” Hamas negotiators reportedly said.

On Tuesday evening, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed optimism regarding a truce.

“The Israelis are cooperating, and it’s now up to Hamas to agree to a ceasefire,” he said.

Under intense pressure from the international community and the left-wing flank of the Democratic party, Biden has increasingly scaled up his public criticism of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

Image - Reuters