"Israel has basically agreed to accept a six-week ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, and now it only needs the nod of Hamas to release the hostages, and the agreement can be reached." According to the Associated Press 3**, an American **senior** revealed this information to the outside world on the 2nd. Reuters quoted information from Egypt on the 2nd that ceasefire talks are scheduled to resume in Cairo on the 3rd. The latest news from Reuters on the 3rd said that a delegation from Hamas had arrived in Cairo on the same day. But a Palestinian** told Reuters that the deal was "not on the agenda" at the moment.
AFP said on the 3rd that negotiators are working around the clock to reach a ceasefire agreement before Ramadan. Bloomberg News said on the 3rd that Hamas** confirmed on the same day that they received an invitation to continue negotiations on the terms of the ceasefire. A senior Hamas ** told AFP on the 3rd that if Israel accepts Hamas's demands, a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip may be achieved "within 24 hours to 48 hours". "There is a good chance that an armistice can be reached if Israel agrees to return displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and to increase demands such as humanitarian assistance," the unnamed ** said.
According to Reuters 3**, two Egyptian security sources said that the delegations of the two sides are expected to resume talks in Cairo on the 3rd. However, Israel's "ynet" news network quoted an unnamed senior U.S. ** on the 2nd as saying that Israel will not send a delegation to negotiate until it obtains the full list of hostages who are still alive.
And Hamas has not abandoned its previous position because of the peace talks. According to the "Times of Israel" 3**, Egyptian sources and a Hamas** said on the 2nd that Hamas insisted that a temporary truce must be the beginning of the process of ending the war in an all-round way. Egyptian sources said the mediator assured Hamas that the terms of a permanent ceasefire would be worked out in the second and third phases of the agreement. A Palestinian**, who is familiar with the progress of the mediation, said that "the two sides still have differences on the issue of ending the conflict and withdrawing Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip". Egyptian security sources said the mediator proposed options to persuade Israel to accept a permanent ceasefire agreement, including the approval of a security buffer zone between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Qatar's Al Jazeera said on the 3** channel that at present, negotiators are talking about a temporary ceasefire, not a permanent ceasefire. "For the people of Gaza, a temporary ceasefire would be a welcome respite," said Heyer, a researcher at the Royal Services Institute. Of course, what they really need is a permanent ceasefire, especially with this incredible humanitarian crisis frequently appearing on the world's **. But Israel has made it clear that the bombing will continue as soon as they rescue the hostages". Al Jazeera's Azum believes that even a temporary ceasefire could give Palestinians in the Gaza Strip a chance to "recover the bodies of their loved ones from under the rubble".
Just a few hours after the United States released a positive signal for negotiations on the 2nd, the United States announced that it would begin airdropping aid to the war-torn Gaza on the same day. The U.S. ** Command issued a statement on social platforms on the 2nd confirming that the operation was carried out jointly with Jordan, and the transport plane dropped about 380,000 meals. A U.S. told Axios on the 2nd that more airdrops are expected in the U.S. in the coming days. U.S. Senator Merkley called on Biden on social platforms on the 3rd to expand aid to Gaza, including the delivery of supplies by land and sea.
Israel welcomes the United States humanitarian airdrop, an action that has been discussed and coordinated with us. An anonymous Israel** in Washington said that Israel was very supportive of the U.S. airdrop. Indeed, both U.S. Biden and other leaders are under increasing international pressure to alleviate the increasingly desperate plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following a blockade. While the U.S. conducted its first airdrop, global aid agencies have warned that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will grow worse without a ceasefire agreement. Reuters said there were at least 57 in Gaza60,000 people are at risk of famine. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, called for sanctions against Israel on the 3rd, saying that Israel has been deliberately starving Palestinians since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict last year, and the only way for Israel to get rid of this notoriety is to cease fire immediately.
Calls for a ceasefire are getting louder and louder in the United States, which puts a lot of pressure on Biden, who faced the United States in November. About 13 percent of voters in the Michigan Democratic primary on Feb. 27 said they did not vote for Biden, in an effort to increase the Biden campaign's concerns about the prospect of votes in the key swing state and to prompt Biden to take more aggressive steps to address the Gaza Strip's predicament. In view of this, Biden announced plans to airdrop supplies to the Gaza Strip on March 1, local time.
According to an analysis by the United States on the 2nd, the United States began to airdrop aid to Gaza, highlighting Biden's internal concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. U.S. News & World Report2** said that for months, the United States has repeatedly called on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, but Israel has refused. Some experts say being forced to resort to costly and inefficient airdrops is the latest proof of Washington's limited influence over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu**.
*: Global Times.