Did Biden's Gaza Ceasefire Dreams Explode With a Hamas Leader?

The Biden administration's hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza may be fading after the killing of a Hamas leader inside Iran, defense experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The administration and various international negotiators have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, with civil servants suggesting in the last few weeks, the remaining “gaps” could soon be narrowed to reach an agreement. But the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a key deal negotiator, will likely complicate the ceasefire talks and wipe out months of progress, experts told the DCNF.

Israel has not taken credit for the killing, but Iran and Hamas were quick to point the finger of blame regardless, with some reports suggesting Israeli forces were behind the covert operation. His killing underscores the unique position Israel has found itself in in recent months: working tirelessly to defeat the terrorist group while trying to negotiate with them at the same time, experts told the DCNF.

“The implication here is that the ceasefire talks and the hostage talks have been delayed for a while, to the point where anyone thought they would happen,” said Gabriel Noronha, executive director of Polaris Homeland Security and former State Department official. the DCNF. “From the Hamas side, internally, they won't want to do anything with Israel anytime soon.”

“Talking while fighting is difficult under the best of circumstances… it's a strange thing to do, even though you have to do it. [The U.S. has] You've done that, of course, but when you kill the real negotiator, it's going to be very difficult to find someone who wants to play that role in the future, because now you're both a diplomat and a target,” Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, he told the DCNF. “It would be remarkable to me if someone told you that he didn't think this was a setback for diplomacy.”

Haniyeh joined Hamas in 1997 and has led the terror group's political wing since 2017. seconds in the Washington Post. He was sanctioned by the US and wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In the ongoing war in Gaza, Haniyeh represented Hamas during ceasefire negotiators with Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Although his death is not unwelcome in the West, it threatens to complicate ongoing negotiations with Hamas.

Biden officials are now scrambling to keep the deal alive, according to multiple reports. The strike against Haniyeh in Iran caught the Biden administration by surprise, according to US officials he said The Wall Street Journal.

“This is something we were not aware of or involved in,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a interviewduring a trip to Singapore, adding that he did not know “what this [meant]” for the ongoing ceasefire discussions. The Department of State referred to the DCNF to deputy spokesman Vedant Patel's comments during a news conference Wednesday, echoing Blinken's comments that he did not want to “speculate on any potential impact.”

President Joe Biden held a “tough” phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to express his frustration that Israel chose to kill Haniyeh at such a crucial time for the ceasefire talks, even though the his death as a general matter would not. bothering the US, two US officials he said axes The phone call was emotional as Biden “raised his voice” to Netanyahu toward the conclusion of the discussion, insisting he wanted a ceasefire agreement reached in “one week to two weeks ” an Israeli official with direct knowledge of the discussions told Axios. .

The Biden administration and the Israeli government have appeared to be at odds for months over how to achieve a ceasefire. Biden said come in a cease-fire proposal in May that he said was drafted by the Israelis, but Netanyahu seemed reject the proposal shortly after being announced.

“I think it's clear that they haven't been in sync with the ceasefire approach at all,” Logan told the DCNF. “Part of this is an illusion on the part of the Biden people that, you know, 'we think Netanyahu should want this, therefore he probably wants it,' and they're not listening to what Netanyahu is actually saying . I think there must be some frustration and a sense that the world's only superpower has little power to control this situation.”

Biden also spoke with Netanyahu about the potential of Iran and Hezbollah retaliation, as both have vowed revenge for Tuesday's attacks in Lebanon and Iran. Israeli forces claimed responsibility for one air attack in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday, which successfully killed a high-level Hezbollah commander, just hours before the separate attack in Iran.

The two world leaders discussed joint US and Israeli military operations that would put in place a defense in the event of an attack, with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin briefing his Israeli counterparts on Thursday about the changes in posture of American forces in the Middle East. seconds to Reuters and Axios.

Biden told Netanyahu during the phone call Thursday, however, that if Israel were to carry out an operation similar to the one it did earlier this week, he should not expect the United States to come to his defense, a US official at Axios.

“Today I had a very direct meeting with the prime minister. Very direct,” Biden he said reporters on Thursday evening after his call with Netanyahu. Asked if Haniyeh's death would affect the ceasefire talks, Biden said it “hasn't helped.”

Featured Image Credit: Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith

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