Global News Desk:
US President Joe
Biden said Friday he was "hoping" for a ceasefire deal in the
Israel-Hamas conflict by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan but agreement was
still not sealed. "I'm hoping so, we're still working real hard on it.
We're not there yet," he told reporters at the White House when asked if
he expected a deal by Ramadan, which will start on March 10 or 11, depending on
the lunar calendar.
"We'll get there but we're not there yet -- we may not get
there," Biden added, without elaborating, as he headed to his helicopter
to spend the weekend at the presidential Camp David retreat.
Biden had said
at the beginning of this week that he expected a deal by Monday for a six-week
halt in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, but has steadily walked back the
timeline. The 81-year-old Democrat announced earlier Friday that the United
States would soon start airdropping aid to Gaza, a day after dozens of
desperate Palestinians were killed rushing an aid convoy. Biden has said the
incident could complicate talks, but would not comment Friday on what was
holding up a deal, adding: "I'm not going to tell you that because that'll
get involved in the negotiations." (News Source By The Daily Star)