A new day of negotiations opens this Wednesday in Cairo.
The objective, for the mediators, is to achieve a truce in Gaza, a territory plunged into a terrible humanitarian crisis after five months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas.
The United States, the Jewish state's main supporter, is pushing for a ceasefire before Ramadan, the holy month of Muslim fasting, which begins March 10 or 11.
“It’s in the hands of Hamas,” the American president declared Tuesday to journalists, judging that the Israelis were “cooperative.”
“There was a reasonable offer, which Israel accepted.
We are waiting to know what Hamas is doing,” he continued.
Joe Biden estimated that the situation would become “very dangerous” in Israel, particularly in Jerusalem, if hostilities continued during Ramadan.
“Difficult” discussions
For weeks, Egypt, Qatar and the United States, which act as mediators, have been trying to obtain a truce in the war triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7.
In Cairo, “difficult” discussions that began on Sunday are to continue this Wednesday between representatives of the three countries and Hamas, but without an Israeli, reported the AlQahera News channel, close to Egyptian intelligence, citing a senior official.
The path to negotiations “will not be open indefinitely,” warned a Hamas official based in Beirut.
Also read: Israel-Hamas war: what is still blocking negotiations on a truce in Gaza?
The plan discussed calls for a six-week truce that would allow the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as an increase in humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
On Tuesday, a Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mardawi, reiterated to AFP Hamas' demands before any agreement on the hostages: a definitive ceasefire, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, the reconstruction of the territory and the return of those displaced by war.
But Israel rejects these conditions, assures that the offensive will continue until “total victory”, and, according to media reports, also requests a precise list of hostages held in Gaza.
According to Israel, there are still 130, including 31 presumed dead, out of the approximately 250 people kidnapped on October 7.
The United States raises its voice
Five months of fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas have plunged the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian crisis, particularly the difficult-to-access north, where hunger is reaching “catastrophic levels”, according to the World Food Program (WFP).
The WFP announced Tuesday that one of its humanitarian convoys, its first to northern Gaza in 15 days, was looted by "a desperate crowd" after being blocked at an Israeli checkpoint inside the Palestinian territory.
Alongside diplomatic efforts, fighting continues on the ground and Israel is determined to launch a land operation on Rafah, in the far south of the territory, on the closed border with Egypt, where nearly 1.5 million people are massed. of Palestinians, according to the UN.
The Americans have been raising their voices in recent days in the face of the increasingly catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, Joe Biden called for “more aid” and said that Israel has “no excuses” for restricting the entry of convoys waiting at the border with Egypt.
“Children who are starting to die of hunger (…) this should be an alarm like no other,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).