WASHINGTON, March 1, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US President Joe Biden said a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza was now unlikely to happen by Monday, adding that a chaotic shooting incident at an aid point would likely complicate negotiations.
 
  Biden said that the United States was checking "competing versions" of the incident in which Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said more than 100 people were killed.
 
  Earlier this week Biden had predicted a deal was possible by Monday to implement a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
 
  "Hope springs eternal," Biden told reporters when asked about the ceasefire timing, as he left the White House for a pre-election trip to Texas to visit the US-Mexico border.
 
  "I was on the telephone with people in the region... Probably not by Monday, but I'm hopeful."
 
  The US president said he did not yet have clarity on what happened in Gaza City earlier Thursday, when one of the worst single incidents of the nearly five-month war occurred.
 
  "We're checking that right now. There are two competing versions of what happened, I don't have an answer yet," Biden said as he headed to his helicopter.
 
  Asked if he was worried whether it would complicate the delicate negotiations for a ceasefire, Biden replied: "I know it will."
 
  - 'Tragic and alarming' -
 
  The White House later said Biden had spoken with two key regional players on Thursday -- Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi -- about efforts to reach a ceasefire.
 
  "The leaders underscored that the release of hostages would result in an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks," the White House said in a statement.
 
  "They exchanged views on how such a prolonged period of calm could then be built into something more enduring."
 
  The leaders also discussed the "tragic and alarming incident" in Gaza involving aid, saying it "underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible", the White House said.
 
  They agreed to stay in touch in coming days, it added.
 
  The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 30 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.
 
  An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."
 
  The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza condemned what it called a "massacre" and said 104 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.
 
  The incident adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war that the ministry said earlier Thursday had now topped 30,000.
 
  The United States has backed Israel since the unprecedented attack but has recently pushed for a ceasefire and a reduction in civilian casualties by Israel.
 
  Hamas's October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show. Hamas also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.