Truce: ‘it’s now or maybe never’
GAZA: HAMAS AIMS FOR A SIX-WEEK CEASEFIRE
All sides scramble for peace deal before onset of holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
Egypt was yesterday set to host the latest talks aimed at a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as Gaza officials reported more deadly bombardment in the nearly five-month-old war.
A senior Hamas official said a delegation from the Palestinian group would discuss a proposal for a six-week truce.
Envoys from the US, Qatar and Hamas have arrived in Cairo, state-linked media reported, as all sides have been scrambling to lock in a truce before Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month that begins on 10 March.
The Hamas official said if Israel was to meet its demands – which include a military withdrawal from Gaza and stepped-up humanitarian aid – this would “pave the way for an agreement within the next 24-48 hours”.
The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said at least 90 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours, including 14 family members whose house in Rafah refugee camp had been hit.
In a sign of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory, ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said at least 16 children had died of malnutrition in recent days as “famine spreads in the Strip’s north”.
Israel’s top ally, the US, began airdropping aid into Gaza on Saturday, which has faced dwindling deliveries of relief supplies across its borders. The Hamas official said the group would demand “the entry of at least 400 to 500 trucks per day” carrying food, medicine and fuel as part of the truce deal.
A US official said “there’s a framework deal” for a ceasefire which “the Israelis have more or less accepted”. Israel has yet to confirm that or if it would attend the Cairo talks.
A ceasefire could start “today if Hamas agrees to release the defined category of vulnerable hostages... the sick, wounded, elderly and women,” the official said.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group insisted on a complete, rather than “temporary”, ceasefire and on “ending the aggression
against our people”.
With fears of widespread famine mounting, US military planes parachuted “over 38 000 meals” into Gaza, US Central Command said, joining several Arab and European government that have been carrying out airdrops.
Israeli officials “must seal this deal no matter what”, said Eyal Kalderon, cousin of hostage Ofer Kalderon.
“I don’t know if they will have another chance. It’s now or maybe never.” –