Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal has been stalled for 2 weeks, Biden aide admits, as violence in region escalates

White House and State Department officials have said for weeks that the US is on the “verge” of orchestrating a ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Israel’s military and Hamas.

But now, a top White House spokesman has admitted that talks have essentially stalled.

John Kirby made the admission Sunday on ABC’s This Week when he was asked about a Wall Street Journal report which seemed to drain the optimism surrounding Gaza talks, indicating that senior-level Biden officials no longer believe peace is achievable this year.

Biden’s national security council spokesman told ABC that no progress has been made in two weeks on the deal, which he and others have previously said is largely hammered out.

“It appears that the Gaza ceasefire talks have gone cold. Is that right?” host George Stephanopoulos asked.

“I would say that we are not achieving any progress here in the last week to two weeks,” Kirby replied. “Not for lack of trying.”

He then firmly laid blame on Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar for refusing to continue negotiations “in good faith”. Sinwar became the lead negotiator for Hamas after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike in August.

.<a rel=«nofollow» target="_blank" href=«https://twitter.com/GStephanopoulos?ref_src=» https:>@GStephanopoulos

: “It appears that the Gaza cease-fire talks have gone cold. Is that right?”

White House's John Kirby: “I would say that we are not achieving any progress here in the last week to two weeks … Not for lack of trying.” https://t.co/D2DfoLK09n pic.twitter.com/xNJwIwBF6T

It’s the latest mixed message from the Biden administration when it comes to Israel and Hamas, and the negotiations which the US has been facilitating through Qatar, aimed at ending the nearly year-long conflict.