Veep presses for peace
Vice-President ramps up pressure on both sides in Gaza
GAZA STRIP: Mediators in Cairo made a renewed push for a Gaza ceasefire, but differences remained as fighting raged between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory gripped by desperate food shortages.
Envoys from the US, Qatar and Hamas arrived in Cairo in a new bid to agree a six-week truce, increased aid deliveries and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
But sticking points remained, including a Hamas demand that Israeli forces entirely withdraw from the Gaza Strip. And Israel, which has so far announced no plans to join the Egypt talks, has demanded Hamas release all remaining 130 hostages, while also providing it with a list of the captives, including more than 30 who are feared dead.
US Vice-President Kamala Harris has called on Hamas to accept the proposed six-week ceasefire deal.
The deal “will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in,” Ms Harris said, urging Hamas to accept the deal.
“Hamas claims it wants a ceasefire. Well, there is a deal on the table. And as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal.”
Her comments were the strongest to date by a US administration official on Israel, as President Joe Biden comes under acute pressure over his support for Israel and the civilian death toll in Gaza soars.
Ms Harris also criticised Israel over insufficient aid deliveries into Gaza.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table,” she said during a speech in Selma, Alabama.
“The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid – no excuses.”
She added that Israel “must open new border crossings” and “must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid”.
Ms Harris is due to meet with Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s war cabinet, in Washington this week. The former Israeli military chief, a longtime rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will also meet national security adviser Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Despite the latest push to halt the fighting sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, there was no let-up in Israeli bombing and urban combat in Gaza, including several air strikes in Rafah and Khan Yunis. Earlier, 90 Palestinians were killed in 24 hours, according to the Hamas-ruled health ministry.