Published March 4, 2024
CAIRO/RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday demanded Palestinian militant group Hamas agree to an immediate six-week ceasefire while forcefully urging Israel to do more to boost aid deliveries into Gaza, where she said innocent people were suffering a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
In some of the strongest comments by a senior leader of the U.S. government to date on the issue, Harris pressed the Israeli government and outlined specific ways on how more aid can flow into the densely-populated enclave where hundreds of thousands of people are facing famine, following five months of Israel’s military campaign.
“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Harris said at an event in Selma, Alabama. “There is a deal on the table, and as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal. Let’s get a ceasefire.”
“People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act…The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses,” she said.
On Sunday, a Hamas delegation had arrived in Cairo for the latest round of ceasefire talks, billed by many as the final possible hurdle for a truce, but it was unclear if any progress was made. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth’s online version reported that Israel boycotted the talks after Hamas rejected its demand for a complete list naming hostages who are still alive.
Washington has insisted the ceasefire deal is close and has been pushing to put in place a truce by the start of Ramadan, a week away. A U.S. official on Saturday said Israel has agreed on a framework deal.
An agreement would bring the first extended truce of the war, which has raged for five months so far with just a week-long pause in November. Dozens of hostages held by Hamas militants would be freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
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SOURCE: www.swissinfo.ch
RELATED: Gaza truce talks on a knife’s edge with bloody fighting continuing to rage between Israel and Hamas in Palestine – as desperate food shortage grips the West Bank
Published March 3, 2024
-Israel boycotted talks in Cairo and said Hamas ‘refuses to provide clear answers’
-US officials insist a ceasefire deal is within reach and will be struck by Ramadan
Mediators in Cairo have made a renewed push for a Gaza ceasefire, while differences remained as fighting raged on Sunday between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory gripped by desperate food shortages.
Envoys from the United States, Qatar and Hamas arrived in Cairo for the latest effort towards a six-week truce, stepped-up aid deliveries and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Sticking points remained however, including a Hamas demand that Israeli forces entirely withdraw from the Gaza Strip after almost five months of devastating war.
Israel, which has so far boycotted the Egypt talks, has demanded Hamas provide it with a list of all 130 remaining captives, including over 30 who are feared dead.
According to newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel had refused to send a delegation with officials quoted as saying that Hamas ‘refuses to provide clear answers’.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
