Biden voices optimism for Middle East peace deal — despite strikes and rising tension in Lebanon
US President Joe Biden didn’t directly respond when asked what Israel’s strikes in Lebanon mean for the peace process in the Middle East, only saying his administration wants to get people back to their homes safely and voicing optimism that a ceasefire and hostage deal could get done.
The president said the administration wanted to “make sure that both people in northern Israel as well as southern Lebanon are able to go back to their homes and go back safely.”
“The secretary of state, secretary of defense, our whole team is working — and the intelligence community try to get that done,” Biden said, ahead of a meeting with his Cabinet. “We’re going to keep at it till we get it done.”
Asked if that was realistic, Biden responded, “If I ever said it’s not realistic, we might as well leave.”
“A lot of things lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done,” he said. “We have to keep at it.”
Where things stand: CNN has reported that despite months of feverish work, there has been growing skepticism within the administration about whether a deal can be struck for a ceasefire deal in Gaza before the end of the president’s term in January.
Top officials increasingly question whether either Hamas or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are interested in striking a deal at all, leading to questions about how to proceed.
Biden’s national security advisers have no imminent plans to present the president with an updated ceasefire proposal, a sign of the stalled talks.
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