Hopes of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip this week are fading as Israel declined to send a delegation to Cairo for further negotiations with international mediators.

Following talks in Paris last week — widely regarded as being positive — hopes were high a cease-fire deal would be in place before the start next week of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

While Hamas sent delegates to Cairo, Israel said it would not participate in the talks until it had seen the names of surviving Israeli hostages.

Hamas countered by saying it was impossible to know who was still alive because of continuing Israeli bombing. It claims it needs a cease-fire to gather such data.

Fears are now mounting that without a cease-fire deal, tensions could further spread during Ramadan.

Hezbollah Diplomatic Mission

Indeed, President Joe Biden has sent a special envoy to Lebanon in attempt to impress on Hezbollah that an escalation of hostilities with Israel is not in its best interests.

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to the president, told reporters: “Escalation of violence is in no one's interest and there is no such thing as a limited war. An escalation will certainly not help Lebanon rebuild and advance forward at this critical time in Lebanon's history.”

Israel has already been directing air strikes at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and announced on Monday that warplanes hit targets in the south of the country — Hezbollah compounds in the towns of Chihine and Aita al-Shaab. Israel said the raids were in response to an attack from Lebanon which left one Israeli dead and seven others injured.

The U.S. is concerned that the tensions between the two will escalate and see Israel mount a ground assault into Lebanon.

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Harris: “Humanity Compels Us To Act“

Back in the U.S., Vice President Kamala Harris made a speech urging for an “immediate cease-fire” so humanitarian efforts can address the “immense scale of suffering in Gaza.”

She called on both sides to meet the conditions currently on the table, for Hamas to release remaining hostages in exchange for the provision of aid.

“People in Gaza are starving,” she said. “The conditions are inhumane and out common humanity compels us to act.”

The vice president also condemned last week’s incident where more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they waited for food aid to be distributed in Gaza.

Sources from Gaza’s health ministry blamed Israeli forces for firing on the crowd, while Israel claimed the deaths had been caused by trampling as the crowd surged towards lorries carrying aid.

Gantz Visits Washington, D.C.

Israeli war Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz is on a three-day visit to the U.S. capital to meet with Harris, as well as Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, but he is not representing the Israeli government, CNN reported on Monday, citing an Israeli government official.

Although a member of the cross-party war cabinet, Gantz is a political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading the National Unity party, which is gaining popularity in the poll as Netanyahu’s Likud party, falls.

Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., was told not to participate in Gantz’s trip.

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