The Israelis have “basically accepted” a six-week ceasefire proposal in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official told reporters Saturday. A second phase would be worked out over those six weeks “to build something more enduring.”
The six-week ceasefire would allow for the release of hostages in Gaza deemed the most vulnerable, including women, the elderly and the wounded, and the flow of aid into the beleaguered coastal enclave.
That official said there is a “framework deal” that Israel has “more or less accepted.” The sticking point, the official said, is that Hamas has not yet agreed to a “defined category of vulnerable hostages.”
US officials said Friday that talks to reach a ceasefire agreement to halt the fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza by Ramadan – now just about a week away –appeared to be on track, even after more than 100 Palestinians were killed Thursday as they tried to access food in Gaza City.
And on Friday afternoon, President Joe Biden called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
“We’re trying to work out a deal between Israel and Hamas on the hostages being returned and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for at least the next six weeks and to allow the surge of aid to the Gaza Strip,” Biden said at the White House during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
US officials said Friday there were no indications that the discussions had been significantly derailed because of the aid site deaths but that much hinges on an expected Hamas response to what has been discussed in Paris and Doha, Qatar, in the past week. Qatar, Egypt, Israel and the US have been involved in those talks. On Thursday, a Hamas official warned, however, that the negotiations could be affected.
As…
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