US will ‘work to extend’ four-day peace between Israel and Hamas, Biden says

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President Joe Biden called on Israel and leaders of Hamas to work towards a deal that would extend a negotiated truce in the bloody conflict that erupted last month on Sunday after several hostages including a young American girl were released by the militant group.

The US leader spoke from Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Sunday shortly after officials confirmed that four-year-old Abigail Idan had been among the latest hostages turned over to the Red Cross by Hamas on Sunday. While her current status wasn’t immediately clear, the president said that he, the first lady, and millions of Americans were “praying for the fact that she is going to be all right”.

Mr Biden said in his remarks that he hoped the temporary peace that began on Friday would be extended to allow for the safe return of more hostages and the transfer of further aid to innocent Palestinians caught in the brutal siege of Gaza. Some 14,800 are thought to have been killed since the conflict began.

“Under this deal, fighting in Gaza has now been paused for three days. Over that time, 58 hostages have been released, including Thai, Filipino, and Russian nationals. Dozens of families have been reunited,” said the president.

The president’s goal, he said, was to “keep this pause going beyond tomorrow”.

“[T]his deal is structured so that it can be extended to keep building on these results. That’s my goal,” said Mr Biden.

He also lauded the US’s work, along with other countries including Egypt, to ensure the transfer of aid via trucks into the Gaza Strip as the truce continues.

“We’ve moved approximately 200 aid trucks into Gaza per day,” said Mr Biden. “This deal is delivering life-saving results. Critically-needed aid is going in, and hostages are coming out.”

The US leader’s comment about having spent “weeks” calling for a pause in the fighting is notable. It comes as he is facing intense public pressure from the left wing of his own party to call for an end to the hostilities in the region and the establishment of a permanent state for the Palestinian people. Mr Biden has rejected calls for an end to the Israeli military campaign, which he has asserted is within Israel’s rights as the country responds to a deadly terrorist attack in October that killed roughly 1,200 people.

Massive rallies have been held in Washington DC, New York and other cities as a growing segment of Americans give the president low marks for his handling of the US’s role in the war. The president has also dismissed the possibility, again supported by progressives, of conditioning military aid to Israel on an end or curtailment of the bombing campaign in northern Gaza.

Israel’s leaders maintain that they will continue their siege of the Gaza Strip once the four-day truce expires on Monday.