Yossi Mekelberg of The Royal Institute of International Affairs, commonly known as Chatham House, believes there could be a ceasefire in the next few weeks —either before Christmas or by the end of the year— as the US becomes increasingly concerned over the death toll in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

He said that for the people of Gaza, a few weeks would still be a “very long time”.

Mekelberg, who is an associate fellow of the MENA Programme at Chatham House, said the fighting also needs to stop if Israel wants all the hostages released.

“Everyone needs to go back to the negotiating table… all of this is one big disaster,” he added.