Batbricks7

This realisation is fast setting in among US officials that a Gaza peace plan may be finally out of President Joe Biden's reach now.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (Sep 19) that the deal may be finalised only after Biden leaves the White House in late January.

Citing top sources in the White House, the newspaper reported that the prospects of a peace deal have waned following a recent surge of violence.

This comes after Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters Thursday that the peace plan was "not falling apart."

"I can tell you that we do not believe that deal is falling apart," she said.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had noted that 90 per cent of a ceasefire deal had been agreed upon.

The officials identified two major hurdles that have prevented both Hamas and Israel from hammering out a peace deal.

The first is that Israel wants to keep forces in the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt and is refusing to budge.

Secondly, there are doubts over the specifics of an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

In late May, Biden had put forward a three-phase ceasefire proposal, which Israel had reportedly agreed to.

But as the talks got derailed, the US administration claimed a new peace proposal would soon be proposed.

Since then, mediators from the US, Qatar and Egypt have toiled to help reach an agreement between the two sides but to no avail.

Now, as tensions soar between Israel and its northern neighbour Lebanon over Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie explosions, it may not bode well for Gaza peace talks.

Blinken also looked visibly annoyed when he was asked a question about Israel's fresh assault on Hezbollah during his visit to Cairo.

"Time and again" when the US and others working on a Gaza cease-fire plan think they are moving forward, "we've seen an event that threatens to slow it, stop it, derail it," he said.