US President Joe Biden has said he was “hoping” for a deal on a six-week ceasefire by the Muslim holy month of Ramazan, which will start on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.

“We’ll get there but we’re not there yet — we may not get there,” Biden added, without elaborating, as he headed to his helicopter to spend the weekend at the presidential Camp David retreat.

Ceasefire talks have been complicated by Thursday’s incident in which dozens of desperate Palestinians were killed rushing an aid convoy in northern Gaza, where the UN has warned of famine. An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it “posed a threat.”

“Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families. And you saw the response when they tried to get aid in,” Biden said as he announced the air drops.

The US president added that he would “insist” that Israel let in more aid trucks, while it would also look at a possible “marine corridor” to deliver large amounts of aid into Gaza.