Israel has in accordance with the words of US President Joe Biden awake during the Muslim month of fasting Ramadan not participate in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Ramadan begins on the evening of March 10th and ends on the evening of April 9th.
Israel also committed to allowing the evacuation of the city of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, before intensifying its fight against Hamas, Biden said in an interview with NBC. A ceasefire could also help the process towards a two-state solution and contribute to the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Biden: Israel may lose support
Biden also lamented the high number of Palestinian deaths and added that Israel risks losing the support of the entire world if it continues like this. The interview was recorded on Monday and broadcast on Tuesday.
Biden had previously sounded optimistic about an imminent ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in the Gaza war, while eating ice cream in New York on Monday night, in response to a question from the press in attendance. “My national security adviser tells me we are close,” he said. We haven't reached our goal yet. “I hope we have a ceasefire next Monday,” Biden said. The US is a close ally of Israel.
The US government has been negotiating a new ceasefire for weeks, which, among other things, should allow for the release of all hostages. However, it is uncertain whether international mediators will be able to negotiate such an agreement by the start of the Muslim fasting month on March 10.
The media had previously reported that the difficult negotiations were not progressing. Israeli television channels Channel 12 and Kan cited officials as saying that a negotiating framework proposed by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States remained inconsistent with Hamas' demands. Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of adopting a blocking stance.
Hamas received a draft ceasefire agreement
According to one source, as part of the ceasefire negotiations in Paris, Hamas received a draft that provides for a 40-day suspension of all military operations. In addition, Israeli hostages will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel in a ratio of one to ten, a high-ranking source close to the negotiations told Portal news agency. Under the proposed ceasefire, hospitals and bakeries in the Gaza Strip would be repaired and 500 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies would be sent to the area every day, he said.
(agencies, sif)
| Updated 38 minutes ago