US President reveals hope for ceasefire, Israel changes strategy?

On February 26 (local time), US President Joe Biden said that Israel agreed to temporarily suspend its offensive campaign in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, if an agreement on the hostages is reached.

Israeli army vehicles return from the southern Gaza Strip, southern Israel. (Source: Reuters)

AFP news agency quoted Mr. Biden as saying: "Ramadan is coming and the Israelis agreed that they would not participate in activities during Ramadan, so that we would have time to get all the hostages out."

The US leader also expressed hope that a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages in the coastal enclave could be reached early next week, March 4.

Mr. Biden made such comments in the context that Arab countries such as Egypt and Qatar, along with Western countries such as the US and France, are still trying to promote negotiations between Israel and the Hamas Islamic Movement.

On February 27, Reuters reported that a source familiar with the negotiations said that the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas had received a draft proposal from Gaza ceasefire talks in Paris (France).

According to the draft, the parties will stop all military activities for 40 days. Hamas will release 40 Israeli hostages including women, children under 19, elderly people over 50 and sick people, while Israel will release about 400 Palestinian prisoners and will not re-arrest them.

Under the proposed ceasefire, hospitals and bakeries in Gaza would be repaired, 500 aid trucks would enter the strip every day, and thousands of tents and caravans would be delivered to house displaced people.

Meanwhile, the US newspaper New York Times reported on February 26 that Israel had made "an important move (in its policy of negotiating to release hostages held by Hamas), expressing its willingness to exchange prominent Palestinian prisoners to receive hostages."

The newspaper said that Israel had privately agreed to a proposal by US negotiators to exchange 15 Palestinians serving sentences on terrorism-related charges for five Israeli soldiers held by Hamas. The US proposal was expected to free 40 of the nearly 100 people held by Hamas.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/xung-dot-o-dai-gaza-tong-thong-my-he-lo-hy-vong-ve-lenh-ngung-ban-israel-thay-doi-chien-luoc-262252.html