Defense experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the Biden administration's hopes for a Gaza ceasefire may be fading following the assassination of a top Hamas leader deep inside Iran.

The administration and several international negotiators have been trying for months to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of Gaza hostages. Official Suggest There have been hopes in recent weeks that the remaining gaps could be closed soon and an agreement reached, but the assassination of the agreement's main negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, has complicated ceasefire talks and is likely to undo months of progress, experts told DCNF. (Related: 'They want more time': Experts say Israel may enter war completely unprepared)

Israel has not admitted responsibility for the killing, but Iran and Hamas were quick to claim responsibility, and some reports have suggested the Israeli military was behind the covert operation. His assassination highlights the unusual position Israel has been in in recent months, working tirelessly to defeat terror groups while also seeking to negotiate with them, experts told DCNF.

“The implication here is that ceasefire and hostage negotiations have been delayed for some time and nobody thought they would ever happen,” Gabriel Noronha, executive director of Polaris National Security and a former State Department official, told DCNF. “Internally, Hamas doesn't seem to want to do anything with Israel anytime soon.”

“No matter how good the circumstances are, it's hard to talk while fighting… It's a strange thing anyway, but it has to be done. [The U.S. has] “Of course, that's what they did, but if you kill off the actual negotiators, it's going to be very hard to find someone who wants to fill that role in the future, because that person is both a diplomat and a target,” Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, told DCNF. “I'd be surprised if anyone doesn't think this is a setback for diplomacy.”

Haniyeh joined Hamas in 1997 and has led the terrorist organization's political wing since 2017. according to He was under US sanctions and wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), he told The Washington Post.

In the ongoing war in Gaza, Haniyeh represented Hamas in ceasefire negotiations with Qatar and Egyptian counterparts. His death will not be welcomed by Western countries, but it could complicate the ongoing negotiations with Hamas.

Biden administration officials are now scrambling to keep the deal alive, according to multiple reports. Iran's attack on Haniya came as a surprise to the Biden administration, U.S. officials said. Said The Wall Street Journal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) talks with former Singaporean ambassador Chan Heng Chee at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore on July 31, 2024. (Photo by Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images)

“This is something we were not aware of and had no involvement in,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. interview “I don't know what this is about,” he added during a trip to Singapore. [meant]Ceasefire talks will continue,” the State Department said. Mentioned The DCNF responded to comments from Deputy Press Secretary Vedant Patel during a press conference on Wednesday, in which Patel reiterated Blinken's comments that he “did not want to speculate on any potential impacts.” (Related article: As the winds shift away from Biden, it is reported that Secretary of State Blinken has warned China about Harris' tough views on China relations.)

President Joe Biden held a “tough” phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in which he expressed frustration that Israel had chosen to kill Haniya at a crucial time in ceasefire negotiations, but Haniya's death was not a general issue for the United States, two US officials said. Said The call was reportedly emotional, with Biden “getting louder” to Netanyahu toward the end of the talks and insisting he wanted a ceasefire agreement to be reached within “a week or two,” an Israeli official with direct knowledge of the talks told Axios.

The Biden administration and the Israeli government have been at odds for months over how to implement a ceasefire. Biden forward Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed in May that a ceasefire proposal had been prepared by the Israeli side, but appeared to reject the proposal soon after it was announced.

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. – AUGUST 1: U.S. President Joe Biden addresses media following the arrival of released prisoners Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Arus Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, August 1, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)

“I think it's clear that they don't see eye to eye at all on how to approach a ceasefire,” Logan told DCNF. “Part of that is wishful thinking from the Biden team: 'We believe Prime Minister Netanyahu would want this, so he probably wants it.' They're not actually listening to what Prime Minister Netanyahu has to say. I think there must be some frustration there, and a sense that the world's only superpower has very little control over the situation.”

Biden also discussed with Netanyahu potential retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah, which have vowed to retaliate for Tuesday's attacks in Lebanon and Iran. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday that killed a senior Hezbollah official, hours before another attack in Iran.

The two leaders discussed joint U.S.-Israeli military operations to defend in the event of an attack, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday briefed his Israeli counterpart on changes to the U.S. military posture in the Middle East. according to To Reuters and Axios.

But Biden told Netanyahu in a call on Thursday that the United States could not be expected to defend Israel if it carried out a similar operation to the one carried out earlier this week, a U.S. official told Axios.

“I spoke directly with the prime minister today. Very direct,” Biden said. Said Asked whether Haniya's death would affect ceasefire talks, Biden told reporters on Thursday night after a call with Netanyahu, “It doesn't help.”

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