US eyes Israel-Hamas ceasefire by next week

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES (AFP) – A new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could start as soon as Monday and last through Ramadan, US President Joe Biden said, in a deal that would also free dozens of hostages held in Gaza.

In the protracted bid to broker a truce, mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been putting proposals to the warring parties, with negotiations still ongoing.

They are seeking a six-week halt to the fighting and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the war.

The truce deal could include the release of several hundred Palestinian detainees held by Israel, media reports suggest.

“My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire,” Biden said in response to a question about when a truce might start, adding: “We’re close, we’re not done yet.”

He later said an agreement “in principle” was in reach for a temporary truce to last through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.

“There’s been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out,” Biden said.

An unidentified Israeli official had earlier told news site Ynet the “direction is positive.”

Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani – whose country hosts Hamas leaders and helped broker a one-week truce in November – is due in Paris this week, according to the French presidency.

Tamim has met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Doha as part of his bid for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire agreement,” the official Qatar News Agency said.