Gaza: Washington and Doha hope for a truce between Israel and Hamas during Ramadan

The United States and Qatar hope to arrive at the same time on Tuesday. a new truce agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas starting next week, which could last until next week. the end of Ramadan, soon after five months of war in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian territory, devastated since the outbreak of war on October 7, is plunged into a major humanitarian crisis and 2.2 million people, according to the UN, the vast majority of the population, are threatened with famine.

Washington and Doha, mediators with Egypt in the conflict, hope to obtain a break from the fighting, which has left nearly 30,000 dead in Gaza, before the start of Ramadan and allowing the release of some of the 130 hostages held in the territory. The Muslim holy fasting month begins on the evening of March 10 or 11 and ends around April 9.

The discussions concern a 42-day truce, during which one hostage – among women, minors and sick elderly people – would be exchanged each day for ten Palestinians detained by Israel, according to a source close to Hamas. Additionally, the Islamist movement wants an increase in humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

– “Not done yet” –

Israeli tanks near the border with the Gaza Strip, February 26, 2024 © AFP – Menahem KAHANA

Joe Biden spoke Monday evening on NBC of “an agreement by the Israelis according to which they would not engage in operations during Ramadan” in order to “get all the hostages out”.

“I hope that by next Monday, we will have a ceasefire”, he declared earlier, emphasizing that it was “not yet done”.

“We would of course be happy to achieve this by the end of the week,” assured Tuesday the spokesperson for American diplomacy, Matthew Miller. “We are trying to get this agreement across the finish line, and we believe it is possible.”

In Doha, the spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed al-Ansari, expressed Tuesday his “hope, without necessarily being optimistic, to be able to announce something something today or tomorrow. Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political leadership, plays a central role in the negotiations.

Route of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip © AFP – Laurence SAUBADU, Sylvie HUSSON

“We are all aiming for this objective, but the situation remains changing on the ground”, he added in reference to a break during Ramadan.

< p>An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Ynet news site that “the trend is positive” while Hamas did not react to Mr. Biden's remarks.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, began a two-day visit to Paris on Tuesday. With French President Emmanuel Macron, they reiterated their desire to achieve a ceasefire “very quickly”.

– Nearly 30,000 dead –

War broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing at least 1,160 people. , mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.

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Demonstrators protest against the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, February 27, 2024 in Tel Aviv © AFP – JACK GUEZ

During the attack, some 250 people were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held there, 31 of whom are believed to have died, after the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during a first truce at the end of November.

In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, which it considers, along with the United States and the European Union, to be a terrorist organization.

The Israeli offensive has so far left 29,878 dead in Gaza, the vast majority civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

– “Targeted operation” –

The international community is alarmed by a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a ground offensive, announced by Israel, on Rafah, in the southern Gaza, where nearly a million and a half Palestinians are refugees, according to the UN, trapped against the closed border with Egypt.

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this major operation against the “last bastion” of Hamas would achieve a “total victory” over the Islamist movement in “a few weeks”.

A truce would only “delay” this offensive, he stressed on Sunday, assuring that civilians, mostly displaced people, could be evacuated “to the north of Rafah”.

Residents of Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, queue for food on February 26, 2024 © AFP – –

But on the ground, fighting continues in Khan Younès, a few kilometers north of Rafah. On Tuesday, the army also announced that it was carrying out “targeted operations” in the center of the territory as well as in Zeitoun (north) where soldiers discovered a Hamas tunnel leading to a weapons factory.

Airstrikes also continue on Rafah. “They say Rafah is safe, look at the peace that is falling on our heads,” said Khaled al-Zatma, searching through the rubble of his bombed house.

– “Uninhabitable” –

Rafah is the only entry point for aid into the territory, subject to the green light from Israel and which arrives in very limited quantities. Its transport to the north is made almost impossible by the destruction, fighting and looting.

Airdrop of humanitarian aid by the Jordanian army on Rafah and Khan Younes, in the Gaza Strip, February 27, 2024 © AFP – SAID KHATIB

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), denounced on Tuesday the “systematic” blocking by the Israeli army of aid trucks to the north from Gaza, even those who according to him had received authorization.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for its part announced new humanitarian aid of 53 million dollars for the Palestinians.

“Northern Gaza has become completely uninhabitable,” Marwan Awadieh, a resident of Jabaliya, told AFP. “There is no food here. Even the fodder we were supposed to eat is no longer available.” Mallow, an edible wild herb, “is now exhausted (…) We don't know how we will survive,” he added.

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