On Monday, President Joe Biden expressed his optimism about a potential agreement between Israel and Hamas to cease military activities in Gaza during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with the goal of implementation by next week. President Biden emphasized that the Palestinian death toll was deemed “too high,” and he believes a temporary ceasefire could kickstart the process of establishing a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the notion of a two-state solution.
The draft proposal, which a senior source close to truce talks in Paris told Reuters would allow hospitals and bakeries in Gaza to be repaired and 500 aid trucks to enter the battered enclave every day, is the most severe attempt in weeks to end the conflict which erupted in October last year. The pause in fighting is expected to be during the start of Ramadan on March 10 and will also include the release of Hamas hostages held by Israel.
Biden’s comments came as he met with Israeli officials and Palestinian negotiators on his second trip to the region in a bid to find a way out of the crisis that has lasted nearly a month. David Satterfield, a retired ambassador working as a State Department humanitarian envoy on the Gaza crisis, joined him.
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Earlier, Israel had agreed to let Egypt deliver limited amounts of food, water, and medicine to Gaza, a first break in a 10-day siege on the territory, after outrage over Tuesday night’s deadly bombing of a hospital in the Gaza city. The move came amid pressure from activists to do more to prevent the looming humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and as the families of the abducted Israeli teens began a five-day march to Netanyahu’s office.
But in a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the government had agreed to allow the convoys to pass through a border crossing in northern Israel, but only after they were inspected to ensure that the supplies weren’t being diverted to Hamas militants. It was unclear whether the delivery would include critically needed fuel, which Gazans use to power their hospitals and run their electricity generators.
ActionAid’s communications and advocacy coordinator, Riham Jafari, described the planned deliveries as “barely a drop in the ocean” of the aid desperately needed for the population of about 2 million people. She noted that the water ratio in UN shelters had been cut to just one liter a day for cooking and drinking, well below international standards.
Meanwhile, rocket attacks on Israel resumed Wednesday after a 12-hour lull. The rockets prompted a series of air strikes in response, including on cities in southern Gaza where thousands of protesters have been gathered, demanding that Netanyahu’s war cabinet do more to bring back their loved ones. They have been calling on the cabinet to consider a prisoner-hostage exchange in return for the release of those kidnapped by Hamas militants who stormed a naval base in May and took over an army post.
