War against Hamas

Biden: Israel agrees to ceasefire over Ramadan

A refugee Palestinian family in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip - the residents of Gaza can hope for a ceasefire during Ramadan.(Bild: APA/AFP/MOHAMMED ABED)

The long struggle for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip continues. According to US President Joe Biden, Israel could agree not to take part in fighting in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. However, the mediating Qatar has now expressed its reluctance on this issue ...

"My national security adviser tells me that we are close," Biden said on Monday during a visit to New York. "My hope is that we will have a ceasefire by next Monday. At the same time, however, he emphasized that no agreement had yet been reached.

Ramadan begins on the evening of March 10 and ends on the evening of April 9. In an interview with NBC, Biden said that Israel had also committed to allowing the evacuation of the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt before stepping up its fight against Hamas there. A ceasefire could also help in the process towards a two-state solution and contribute to the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the head of state added. Biden also lamented the high number of Palestinian deaths and added that Israel ran the risk of losing the support of the entire world if it continued to do so. The interview was recorded on Monday and broadcast on Tuesday.

Ice cream and world politics: Joe Biden with talk show host Seth Meyers in New York(Bild: APA/AFP/Jim WATSON)

Qatar shows restraint
However, the Emirate of Qatar was somewhat more sober. No breakthrough in the negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages can be reported, emphasized a spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. However, the emirate is urging Israel and the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip until recently, to agree to an agreement. It is confident and optimistic about the mediation efforts. However, the Qatari government could not comment on statements made by US President Biden, the spokesperson emphasized.

Deal for hostage release in limbo
The US government has been negotiating a new ceasefire for weeks, which, among other things, should enable the release of all hostages. However, it is uncertain whether the international mediators will be able to negotiate such a deal by the start of the Muslim fasting month on March 10.

The media had previously reported that the difficult negotiations were making no progress. The Israeli television stations Channel 12 and Kan quoted officials as saying that a negotiating framework proposed by the mediators Egypt, Qatar and the USA was still not compatible with Hamas' demands. Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of blocking the talks.

Exchange of prisoners planned
According to an insider, Hamas has received a draft in the context of the talks in Paris on a ceasefire that provides for a 40-day suspension of all military operations. In addition, Israeli hostages are to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel at a ratio of one to ten, a high-ranking insider close to the talks told the Reuters news agency. As part of the proposed ceasefire, hospitals and bakeries in the Gaza Strip would be repaired and 500 trucks of aid would enter the area every day, he said.