US says Gaza peace talks to continue, ceasefire possible amid heightened tensions in Middle East

President Joe Biden held talks with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to discuss the Middle East issues and more importantly, the Gaza Ceasefire.

“We fully expect talks to move forward, as they should. All negotiators should return to the table and bring this deal to conclusion,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

Patel, while speaking to reporters at a regular press conference, said that the US expects the peace talks to move forward and that a peace deal was still very much possible.

Patel declined to detail if the talks would go on without Hamas or whether the US was working with regional partners to ensure their participation or not.

Last week, the leaders of US, Egypt and Qatar urged Israel and Hamas to meet on August 15 in Cairo or Doha to finalize the hostage release and Gaza ceasefire plan.

In an address on May 31, President Biden has suggested a three-phase ceasefire proposal to bring a halt to the Israel-Gaza war and since then Washington and other regional mediators have tried to finalise the deal but the proposal has met many obstacles.

Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7 last year and killed around 1,200 people and captured 250 hostages, according to the Israeli administration.

In retaliation, Israel has killed nearly 40,000 people in Palestine, according to the health ministry of the country.