Senior US government officials said on Saturday that the framework for a possible agreement was in place and that the Israelis had “more or less accepted” it. The achievement of an agreement now depends exclusively on the radical Islamist Hamas. According to the DPA, a Hamas representative explained that there were still obstacles for which the Israeli side was responsible. The main reason is the time limit. Israel is maneuvering around the issue.
According to information from the Egyptian television station al-Kahira News TV, mediation talks are expected to continue on Sunday in Cairo. As a result, Hamas delegations and mediating representatives from the US and Qatar would have already arrived. According to the television channel, Israel is also expected to participate in the negotiations.
On Friday, however, a report from the news portal Axios said that Israel did not want to participate in a new round of negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the USA until Hamas presented a list of hostages still alive.
Numerous demands
According to Israeli estimates, there are currently around 100 hostages alive in the hands of Hamas. According to media reports, mediators suggested that a six-week ceasefire should, if possible, come into effect before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10. During this period, 40 Israeli hostages would be exchanged for around 400 Palestinian prisoners.
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What might the future of the Gaza Strip be like?
A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that a ceasefire could be reached “within 24 to 48 hours” if Israel accepted Hamas' demands. This reportedly includes, among other things, a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the “importation of at least 400 to 500 trucks per day” with food, medicine and fuel. A temporary ceasefire is rejected.
Ganz meets with US Vice President Harris
On Monday, Israeli Minister Benni Ganz, a member of the War Cabinet, is expected to hold talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, as reported by the New York Times on Saturday (local time). Harris is expected to speak with Ganz about the urgency of a deal to release the hostages and the ceasefire, as well as the need for more food and aid for Palestinian civilians.
Gaza: UN Security Council calls for protection of civilians
In the war in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian radical Islamic organization Hamas, the UN Security Council called for the protection of Palestinian civilians in need in the isolated coastal strip and for emergency humanitarian aid.
UN Security Council calls for protection of civilians
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council called for the protection of civilians in the isolated coastal strip. “The parties are urged not to deny civilians in the Gaza Strip basic services and humanitarian assistance,” said a United Nations statement released yesterday (local time) in New York.
APA/AFP The US is sending aid packages to Gaza via air transport
The UN Security Council reiterated its call to “enable and facilitate the immediate, rapid, safe, sustainable and unhindered delivery” of large-scale humanitarian assistance. The statement also called on Israel to keep border crossings open for humanitarian aid and allow additional crossings to open.
Member States were also concerned by reports of the recent disaster surrounding a humanitarian aid convoy in the northern Gaza Strip, which Hamas said killed more than 100 people upon its arrival. Direct blame was avoided. The statement said Israeli forces were involved when a large gathering of people surrounded a humanitarian aid convoy southwest of Gaza City.
Israel: Crowd causes deaths in humanitarian aid convoy
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that the crowd was the cause of most of the deaths. Most of the victims were crushed and Israeli soldiers were attacked by the crowd. They fired warning shots and shot individual looters who threatened soldiers. This was the result of a preliminary investigation carried out by the military, which is expected to be followed by a more in-depth investigation by an independent commission.
US launched thousands of meals
The humanitarian situation on the isolated coastal strip has been worsening dramatically for weeks. United Nations representatives recently warned at the Security Council about the starvation of thousands of civilians. US military transport planes dropped about 38,000 meals on Saturday, according to the US military's regional command. It was a joint operation with the Jordanian Air Force. Plans were underway for further operations of this type.
The withdrawn aid could alleviate some of the need, especially in areas that are difficult or impossible to reach with land aid deliveries, such as northern Gaza. However, UN organizations point out that the quantities that can be delivered through airdrops are quite small.
Hamas announced on Sunday that at least 15 children had died from malnutrition and dehydration at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza in recent days. Another six children are in intensive care and suffer from malnutrition and diarrhea. There is no electricity or oxygen generator on site.
WHO on attacks in Rafah: “outrageous and indescribable”
An alleged Israeli airstrike on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, provoked a strong reaction on Saturday. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) was upset by reports of the deaths of several Palestinians. These are “outrageous and indescribable”, wrote Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X (Twitter).
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, at least eleven people have died. The information could not initially be independently verified. The WHO chief said two health workers were among the dead. Healthcare professionals and civilians must be protected at all times. “We call on Israel to cease fire.”
The Israeli military announced in the evening that the army attacked a group of fighters from the Islamic Jihad militia, which is allied with Hamas. In Rafah, around 1.5 million people currently live in a very small space. Most of them are refugees who fled the fighting from other parts of Gaza. The army also attacked around 50 Hamas targets in Khan Yunis. Among other things, the air and artillery strikes destroyed Hamas tunnels, bunkers, bases and rocket firing positions, it said.