US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he hoped a truce would be reached in the Gaza Strip before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that begins on the evening of March 10 or 11, AFP reported.

Asked by journalists about the possibility of an agreement on a cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages by that date, the American president answered: “I hope so, we continue to work a lot on this topic. We’re not there yet.”

“We’re going to do it, but we’re not there yet and we may not be there,” Joe Biden said as he left the White House to spend the weekend at the presidential residence at Camp David near Washington.

Earlier this week, President Biden said he hoped to reach an agreement on a six-week truce in the fighting between Israel and Hamas by Monday, March 4, but he shortened the projected time horizon.

The death of more than 110 Palestinians as a result of shelling by Israel during the distribution of humanitarian aid may complicate negotiations, the US president previously admitted.

On Friday, faced with the impasse in Gaza, Joe Biden decided to involve the United States “in the coming days” and for the first time in air launches of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory besieged by the Israeli army. (Agerpress)