PRESIDENT of the United States (US) Joe Biden asked Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement in Gaza ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. But the Palestinian militant group Hamas warned that talks on a ceasefire and hostage release might not continue indefinitely.
US and Jordanian planes once more delivered food aid to the besieged region of 2.4 million people in a joint operation with Egypt and France. This condition is in the midst of famine that threatens the people of Gaza.
US Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed deep concern regarding the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported children dying of starvation in two hospitals in northern Gaza.
Hamas and United States envoys have met with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo to negotiate a six-week ceasefire, an exchange of dozens of remaining hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and the flow of aid to Gaza. Egypt’s Al-Qahera News, which is close to the country’s intelligence agency, said talks would continue for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday (6/3).
Biden warned Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza for Ramadan starting early next week. This was conveyed following Foreign Minister Antony Blinken urged them to accept an immediate ceasefire.
“Right now this is in the hands of Hamas,” the US president told reporters from Maryland. “There must be a ceasefire because of Ramadan. If we face this situation continuing until Ramadan, Israel and Jerusalem might become very, very dangerous,” he said.
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He did not elaborate but the United States last week urged Israel to allow Muslims to worship at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem during Ramadan. The Israeli government said it would allow Muslim worshipers access to Al-Aqsa during Ramadan but in the same numbers as previous years.
List of hostages
The talks in Cairo have so far not involved Israel. Israeli media reported that its delegation had boycotted the talks following Hamas failed to provide a list of surviving hostages.
However, senior Hamas leader Bassem Naim told AFP that details regarding the detainees were not mentioned in any documents or proposals circulated during the negotiation process. Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Beirut, said his group would not leave negotiation channels open indefinitely.
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Israel says it believes 130 of the 250 prisoners captured by Hamas fighters in the Oct. 7 attack are still in Gaza but 31 people have been killed. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met and agreed that the release of sick, injured, elderly and female hostages would result in an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for at least six weeks.
The first phase of the ceasefire will allow for an influx of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. This provides time and space to ensure a more lasting arrangement and continued calm, according to a White House briefing.
Hunger is worrying
Israel faces increasing criticism from its main ally, the United States, as conditions in the besieged Palestinian territories worsen and famine deepens. Harris met Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz in Washington on Monday, the same day the WHO said a weekend aid mission found that 10 children had died of starvation at Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals.
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In Khan Yunis, the main city south of Gaza, people described finding decomposing bodies lying in streets surrounded by destroyed buildings. “We want to eat and live. Look at our house. How can I be blamed, an unarmed single person with no income in this poor country?” said Nader Abu Shanab, pointing at the ruins with a blackened hand.
American cargo planes delivered more than 36,000 meals to Gaza on Tuesday in a joint operation with Jordan. Meanwhile French and Egyptian aircraft also took part.
The UN World Food Program said Israeli forces turned away aid convoys at checkpoints leading to northern Gaza and were then looted by desperate people.
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Hamas attacks in southern Israel on October 7 resulted in approximately 1,160 deaths. Most of them are civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israeli counterattacks have killed more than 30,600 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
UN tensions
Tensions are rising between Israel and the UN over the handling of allegations of sexual assault by Hamas militants during the October attacks. The UN published a report on Monday saying there were reasonable grounds to believe that a rape had been committed and that hostages taken to Gaza had also been raped.
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Israel accused the UN of taking too long to respond to the claims and recalled its UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan shortly following the report was released.
The war has sparked violence across the region, including almost daily firefights between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
The US military said it shot down three drones and a missile fired at one of its destroyers in the Houthi rebel region of the Red Sea in Yemen on Tuesday.
The Iran-backed Houthi group has been attacking ships in the Red Sea for months. They attacked ships linked to Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Anger over Israel’s campaign in Gaza has been growing in the Middle East. This sparked violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. (AFP/Z-2)
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