Stopping the war in Gaza? The situation is far beyond Joe Biden's capabilities

After months of claims that the cease-fire and hostage release deal is close, senior US officials are now admitting in private conversations that they do not expect Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement before the end of President Joe Biden's term, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The administration will not stop its pursuit of a deal, seeing it as the only way to end the war in Gaza and halt the rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah. The White House earlier announced that the warring parties had already agreed to "90 percent” from the text of the deal, so hope for a breakthrough remains. But a number of senior White House, State Department and Pentagon officials say the warring parties will not agree to the current framework.

"No deal is imminent," one US official said. "I'm not sure it will ever be done“.

Authorities cited two main reasons for the pessimism. The ratio of Palestinian prisoners Israel must release in order to return home hostages held by Hamas has been a major obstacle – even before the US-designated terrorist group killed six hostages, including an American citizen. And the two-day attack on Hezbollah with explosive pagers and radios – followed by Israeli airstrikes – made the possibility of all-out war much more likely, complicating diplomacy with Hamas.

Another problem is that, according to Biden administration officials, Hamas makes demands and then refuses to say yes after the US and Israel accept them. The intransigence has seriously frustrated negotiators, who increasingly feel the militant group is not serious about reaching an agreement. Critics also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging the process, in part in an attempt to appease the far-right wing of his ruling coalition.

As a result, the mood in the administration and in the Middle East is as gloomy as it hasn't been in months.