Gaza ceasefire hope as Biden pushes for truce
US President Joe Biden said he hoped a temporary ceasefire in Gaza could be possible by next week.
He also revealed Israel has agreed to halt all its attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. However, Jerusalem has stressed all its remaining hostages must first be returned by the March 10 start date.
Mr Biden said the possibility of a temporary ceasefire as soon as next week had arisen as Hamas reviewed new truce deal proposals, which included a mass prisonerhostage swap.
The President said: “Ramadan is coming up, and 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.There are too many innocent people that are being killed. And Israel has slowed down the attacks in Rafah.”
His remarks, which were recorded on Monday but broadcast yesterday, came as negotiators desperately continue to try and hammer out a more permanent truce deal for the conflict, which has raged since October.
A senior source close to the talks said that Hamas, which Israel has vowed to annihilate, was studying a draft proposal that includes allowing in a significant amount of humanitarian aid. It also involves swapping Palestinian prisoners for the remaining hostages captured in the Hamas attack that triggered the war.
The proposal is the most serious attempt in weeks to halt the fighting.
Mr Biden added that Israel has also committed to make it possible for Palestinians to evacuate Rafah in Gaza’s south.
But Israel warned that if all its hostages are not released, its military will continue its planned storming of Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinian refugees are now holed up in dire conditions.
Israel’s military yesterday presented its war cabinet with a mass evacuation and operational plan for Rafah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. Details of the evacuation plans were not made public.