Biden doubts Gaza truce after Israeli shooting leaves 112 Palestinians dead

US President Joe Biden has said a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza was now unlikely to happen by Monday, adding that a shooting at an aid point — that left at least 112 Palestinians dead and 760 wounded — would likely complicate negotiations.

Biden said on Thursday that the United States was checking "competing versions" of the massacre.

The Israeli attack occurred at dawn as hundreds of Palestinians were waiting to receive the aid near the al-Nablusi roundabout area, south of Gaza City, when they came under Israeli fire, according to witnesses.

"We think that this latest event needs to be thoroughly investigated," said White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton at a news conference.

Earlier this week Biden had predicted a deal was possible by Monday to implement a temporary ceasefire in Israel's war on Gaza and exchange of hostages.

"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."

Delicate talks

The US president said he did not yet have clarity on what happened in Gaza earlier on Thursday when one of the worst single massacres 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 told reporters 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."

Palestinian authorities in Gaza said Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians at an aid distribution point on Thursday, killing at least 112 people and wounding over 750.

Israeli sources confirmed that troops shot at a crowd rushing towards aid trucks, believing they "posed a threat" to Israeli troops. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office however blamed the victims, saying they were crushed by the trucks.

The United States has backed Israel, politically and militarily, since the unprecedented Hamas blitz on the country on October 7 but has recently pushed for a temporary ceasefire and a reduction in civilian casualties.