Gaza ceasefire talks rest ‘in hands of Hamas’

Biden warns of looming Ramadan deadline and tells Israel ‘no excuses for not letting aid into Gaza’

JOE BIDEN has said a ceasefire deal was in the hands of Hamas as he urged the terror group to accept an Israeli proposal for a pause in fighting.

The US president also warned of imminent danger if a deal was not in place before Ramadan, after another day of talks in Cairo ended without an agreement yesterday. “It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” Mr Biden said. “The Israelis have been cooperating, the offer [of a ceasefire] is rational. We’ll know in a couple of days. But we need the ceasefire.”

The talks broke down after Hamas refused to provide a list confirming which hostages in Gaza are still alive.

The Hamas delegation said it would remain in Egypt for more negotiations, despite Israel withdrawing its team over the hostages row.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, “doesn’t want to reach an agreement and the ball now is in the Americans’ court”.

The deal on the table reportedly involves Hamas releasing all women, children and wounded hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, to a ratio of about one hostage to 10 prisoners. It also allows for hundreds of aid lorries to enter Gaza during a 40-day pause in fighting.

Mr Biden said that it was up to Hamas whether to accept an offer for a sixweek truce, while warning Israel there were “no excuses” for failing to allow aid into the Palestinian territory.

The US president also said a deal needs to be struck before Ramadan on March 10, when tensions in Jerusalem traditionally rise between hardline Jews and Muslims.

He said: “There’s got to be a ceasefire because [of] Ramadan – if we get into circumstances where this continues to Ramadan, Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous.”

Israel has said it is interested only in a temporary truce during which more hostages would be freed. Hamas says it wants any deal to lead to a permanent end to hostilities.

Egyptian security sources said US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators were seeking to overcome this difference by offering separate guarantees to Hamas of peace talks to end the war.

The sides need to resolve a Hamas demand for all Gaza residents to be allowed to return to abandoned homes during the truce, as well as Israel’s demand for the list of hostages, the Egyptian sources said.

As ceasefire talks continue, the World Health Organization has said that there is “extreme” malnutrition in Gaza, with one in six children under the age of two at risk of starvation.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said 15 Palestinian children have died in recent days from dehydration and malnutrition. In Khan Younis, where fighting continues, Palestinian residents have said that there are decomposing bodies left in the streets.

The Gazan health ministry said 17 people were killed in one of many Israeli air strikes launched near the city.

The US president, who last week ordered the United States to start air dropping humanitarian relief into the besieged territory of 2.4 million people, also said he was pushing Israel to let more aid in.

“I’m working with them very hard,” he said.

“We must get more aid into Gaza. There’s no excuses, none.”

Biden also brushed off suggestions of tensions with Mr Netanyahu as Washington presses Israel over civilian deaths, and after one of the Israeli prime minister’s rivals in the war cabinet visited the White House on Monday.

He said that their relationship was “like it’s always been”.