White House encouraged by ‘reports of a potential cease-fire’ in Gaza

The White House on Thursday said it was encouraged by reports of a looming cease-fire between Israel and Hamas after more than a week of violence in and around the Gaza Strip.

“We have seen reports of a potential cease-fire, which we certainly see as encouraging, but we are not in a position to get ahead of any agreements that may be brokered,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

White House officials have had dozens of calls with top officials in Israel and across the Middle East, and President Biden has held four calls in recent days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biden had called for a “significant de-escalation” in the violence between Israel and Hamas by Wednesday in the most recent call between leaders.

Psaki would not confirm whether a cease-fire agreement had been reached, but she hinted that the Israelis may be close to winding down their operation against Hamas.

“We have seen reports of a potential cease-fire. That is certainly encouraging,” Psaki said. “And we believe that they are at the point where they certainly should be positioned to bring an end to this conflict.”

“We are going to continue to press behind the scenes, press through intensive, quiet diplomacy to bring an end to the conflict,” she added.

The Wall Street Journal reported a cease-fire could come as soon as Friday. Bloomberg News reported that Netanyahu will convene Israel’s security Cabinet on Thursday night to discuss a possible cease-fire.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not confirm whether a cease-fire agreement had been reached.

The press secretary noted the current conflict has been going on for roughly 10 days, while violence that broke out in 2014 dragged on for more than 50 .

The Israeli military has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against what it says are Hamas targets in Gaza over the past week, while Hamas has fired more than 3,000 rockets at civilian targets in Israel.

While Biden and many Republicans have defended Israel, saying it has a right to defend itself, the president has faced pressure from the left as hundreds of Palestinians, including children, are killed or injured by rocket fire.

—Tal Axelrod contributed.