Published March 3, 2024
Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo for ceasefire talks, an official source said
Hamas has claimed that a ceasefire in Gaza is possible ‘within 24 to 48 hours’ if Israel accepts its demands, as negotiators are set to meet in Cairo today in the hope they can thrash out a new truce deal.
A delegation led by Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas’ deputy leader in Gaza, has reportedly arrived in Cairo, along with mediators from Qatar and the US, as negotiations are set to resume there today.
The list of demands the group wants met include ‘the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and increasing humanitarian aid,’ an official said.
Hopes for a fresh ceasefire have been reignited after a US administration official said last night that there is ‘a deal on the table’ which Israel has ‘more or less accepted’.
‘It will be a six-week ceasefire in Gaza starting today if Hamas agrees to release the defined category of vulnerable hostages, the sick, the wounded, elderly and women,’ the Washington official said.
They added that the path to a ceasefire is ‘now straightforward’ and that the onus is now on Hamas to accept the deal.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
RELATED: US says Israel has agreed to the framework for a Gaza cease-fire. Hamas must now decide
Hungry Palestinians ran to collect aid being dropped by a Jordanian plane that flew low over the skies of northern Gaza on Friday. (March 1) (AP Video by Mohammad Hajjar, production by Wafaa Shurafa)
Published March 2, 2024
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has essentially endorsed a framework of a proposed Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal, and it is now up to Hamas to agree to it, a senior U.S. administration official said Saturday, a day before talks to reach an agreement were to resume in Egypt.
International mediators have been working for weeks to broker a deal to pause the fighting before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins around March 10. A deal would likely allow aid to reach hundreds of thousands of desperate Palestinians in northern Gaza who aid officials worry are under threat of famine.
The Israelis “have more or less accepted” the proposal, which includes the six-week cease-fire as well as the release by Hamas of hostages considered vulnerable, which includes the sick, the wounded, the elderly and women, said the official.
“Right now, the ball is in the court of Hamas and we are continuing to push this as hard as we possibly can,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House to brief reporters.
Officials from Israel and from Hamas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A senior Egyptian official said mediators Egypt and Qatar are expected to receive a response from Hamas during the Cairo talks scheduled to start Sunday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not publicly authorized to discuss the talks.
There is increasing criticism over the hundreds of thousands struggling to survive in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of the conflict that began when the Hamas militant group attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing around 250 hostages.
U.S. military planes began the first airdrops of thousands of meals into Gaza, and the militaries of Jordan and Egypt said they also conducted airdrops. Aid groups say airdrops should be only a last resort and instead urge the opening of other crossings into Gaza and the removal of obstacles at the few that are open.
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SOURCE: www.apnews.com
