Biden and Hamas disagree over cease-fire progress

A senior Hamas official dismissed suggestions of progress in cease-fire talks with Israel on Saturday, saying mediators are “selling illusions.” This contradicts the cautious optimism ofPresident Joe Biden, who after two days of US-backed negotiations in Qatar, said Friday that a deal was “much, much closer” but that “we’re not there yet.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the talks are at a decisive moment and that this is “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home.”

The proposal includes a six-week pause, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s populated areas. Talks in Doha between Qatari, Egyptian, and US mediators paused on Fridaybut are expected to resume this week in Cairo.

Hanging over negotiations, however, is Iran’s anticipated retaliation against Israel for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, top leaders in Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel has been readying itself for a strike for two weeks, but officials say that Iran appears to be waiting on the cease-fire talks before making any moves.

Meanwhile, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated over the weekend, with the terror group firing 55 missiles into Israel in response to the killing of 10 Syrian workers and their families in Lebanon on Saturday. An attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv Sunday night saw the attacker's explosives detonate before reaching the target — the bomber was killed, and a passerby was injured.

The UK and French foreign ministers, David Lammy and Stéphane Séjourné, wrote in the Observer on Sunday that “One miscalculation, and the situation risks spiraling into an even deeper and more intractable conflict.”