Hamas rejects latest cease-fire proposal
Mediators hustle to get deal ahead of Ramadan
Nearly five months of fighting have left much of Gaza in ruins and created a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with many, especially in the devastated northern region, scrambling for food to survive while pressure grows internationally for Israel and Hamas to reach a deal.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent weeks trying to broker an agreement in which Hamas would release up to 40 hostages in return for a six-week cease-fire, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and an major influx of aid to the isolated territory. But the talks have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
“We must get more aid into Gaza,” President Joe Biden said Tuesday. “There’s no excuse. None.”
Aid groups have said it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies within most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.
More West Bank homes planned
Israel’s government moved forward Wednesday with plans to build about 3,500 new homes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a proposal that has drawn frustration from the U.S.
Israel’s firebrand Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the plan had received approval from the Higher Planning Council, which authorizes West Bank construction.“We continue to build the country!” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The enemies try to hurt and weaken us, but we will continue to build.”
The decision concerns 300 new homes in the Kedar settlement and 2,350 in Maale Adumim. Both plans still have to go through a public comment phase before construction can begin. It also advances a previously approved plan to build nearly 700 homes in Efrat to its final approval stage.
Smotrich announced the plan after a Palestinian shooting attack near the Maale Adumim settlement in February killed one Israeli. At the time, U.S. Secretary
of State Antony Blinken said he was “disappointed” to hear of the Israeli announcement.
The plan’s approval brings the number of settlement housing units approved in the West Bank since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took office to 15,775, according to Israeli watchdog group Peace Now.
Aid corridor plan studied
A government spokesman says European Union Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen will visit Cyprus to inspect installations at the port of Larnaca, from where it’s hoped ships loaded with humanitarian aid will soon depart for Gaza.
Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis told reporters Wednesday that that Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides will join Von der Leyen on her inspection of the port on Friday.
Letymbiotis said interest over the Cypriot initiative to ship a steady stream of aid in large quantities to the Palestinian enclave some 240 miles away has gained traction, both within the EU and among other countries.