United States President Joe Biden accused Hamas of “backing away” from a ceasefire agreement with Israel in the Gaza conflict, as well as a potential prisoner exchange.
“It’s still in play, but you can’t predict,” he says as he prepares to leave Chicago after his farewell speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. “Israel says they can work it out… Hamas is now backing away.”
Hamas declined the most recent offer put forth by mediators after the Doha summit and subsequent talks in Cairo. They justified their refusal by stating that there were “new conditions regarding the prisoner exchange process and withdrawing from previous clauses in a way that does not allow reaching an agreement.” On his side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the agreement was “already in the first stage.”