(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said he remains hopeful about the prospects for a temporary pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, but that it's unlikely to begin by Monday as he originally sought.ย
โHope springs eternal. I was on the telephone with the people in the region. I'm still working on it. Probably not by Monday but I'm hopeful,โ Biden told reporters Thursday at the White House before departing for Texas.ย
Biden added that chaos surrounding an aid convoy in Gaza would affect talks between the two sides. A deal likely would see fighting stop for an extended period of time to allow for the release of hostages and for more humanitarian supplies to enter. He said his administration was looking into the incident.ย
Biden this week expressed hope that negotiators were making progress in talks and that a ceasefire could take effect by Monday. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said last weekend that representatives had agreed on the โbroad contoursโ of a deal. ย
The president spoke after scores of Palestinians were killed and injured on Thursday as food trucks tried to deliver humanitarian aid in northern Gaza. Local officials blamed Israeli forces for the violence.ย
An eyewitness, Mohammed al-Shouli, described a chaotic scene on the ground, telling Bloomberg News in a phone interview that thousands of people had gathered to wait for the convoy and began to swarm the trucks as they started passing an Israeli checkpoint around 4 a.m.ย
The incident โ which saw shootings, people stumbling and falling, and others running away with aid โ lasted for about half an hour before the trucks were emptied, he said.ย
Earlier: Dozens Dead After Violence Near Aid Trucks in Gaza City
The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said 109 people were killed.
Israel's military said it was reviewing the incident. โGazan residents surrounded the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered. During the incident, dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling,โ the military said in a statement.
The violence comes as the US, Qatar and Egypt are seeking to broker a temporary pause in the war.ย
Israel's war in Gaza to root out Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, following its deadly Oct. 7 attack is nearing the end of its fifth month. The military campaign in Gaza has left more than 30,000 people dead, according to the Gaza health ministry, and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the territory.
--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs, Ethan Bronner and Fares Akram.
(Updates with additional details, background from 4th paragraph)
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