U.S. President Joe Biden stated that he hopes to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza by the time Ramadan arrives. In response to a question about the possibility of reaching a truce in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages by that date, Biden said, "I hope so; we are still working hard on the issue. We haven't reached that yet." He added while leaving the White House for a weekend at the presidential retreat in Camp David near Washington, "We will reach that, but we haven't reached it yet, and we may not."
Earlier on Friday, Biden confirmed that the United States would begin participating in airlifting humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza amidst the disastrous conditions they are facing due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The U.S. President's remarks come at a time when the United Nations and several countries have called for a ceasefire in Gaza for humanitarian reasons, demanding an investigation following the Israeli military's fire on Palestinian civilians and the stampede during aid distribution on Thursday, which resulted in the deaths of more than 110 people, according to Hamas.
