Israel has agreed to Gaza ceasefire if Hamas hostages are released, US says

The framework for a deal that would establish a six-week ceasefire in Gaza is in place and Israel has agreed to it, a senior US official has said.

What would be the first pause in fighting since November depends on Hamas agreeing to release hostages considered to be vulnerable, including the sick, the wounded, the elderly and women, the US. administration official said.

Israel also wants Hamas to agree to a ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for each hostage, they said.

They said the Israelis “have more or less accepted” the proposal, adding: “The hostages have to be released.

“The deal is basically there. But I don’t want to create expectations one way or the other.

“The Israelis have basically signed on to the elements of the arrangement.

“Right now, the ball is in the court of Hamas and we are continuing to push this as hard as we possibly can.”

Hamas said this week claimed that around 70 captives have been killed because of Israel’s military operations.

The announcement comes after Egyptian security sources said Israeli and Hamas delegations are expected arrive in Egypt’s capital Cairo tomorrow in a bid to discuss the possibility of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Another source briefed on the talks said Israel would not send a delegation until it got a full list of hostages who are still alive.

Egyptian sources said assurances had been offered to Hamas that the terms of a permanent ceasefire would be worked out in second and third phases of the deal.

Hamas has not backed away from its position that a temporary truce must be the start of a process towards ending the war altogether, the Egyptian sources and a Hamas official said.

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Earlier this week, 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured in Gaza City as they waited for an aid convoy.

Witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

Tel Aviv has admitted that soldiers did start shooting but claims many of the deaths were caused by a stampede.

The European Union’s diplomatic service said today many of those killed or wounded as they tried to get bags of flour from the convoy, were hit by Israeli army fire.

The European External Action Service said “the responsibility for this incident” lays on the “restrictions imposed by the Israeli army” and “obstructions by violent extremist(s) to the supply of humanitarian aid”.

The United Nations says one quarter of the population of Gaza is one step from famine and aid agencies warned of a growing humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian enclave.

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The US military carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza today (2 March).

Three C-130 planes delivered more than 38,000 meals into a territory and Palestinians posted videos on social media showing boxes of aid being dropped.

A U.S. official told Reuters the airdrops took place over southwestern Gaza and the town of Mawasi.

Northern Gaza has borne the brunt of the conflict that began when the Hamas militant group launched an attack into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing around 250 hostages.

Gaza’s health ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to 30,320. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two thirds of those killed.

In Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half of the besieged territory’s people now seek refuge, an Israeli air strike on Saturday struck tents outside the Emirati hospital, killing 11 people and injuring about 50, including health workers, Gaza’s health ministry said.

Israel’s air, sea and ground offensive, reduced much of densely populated northern Gaza to rubble. The military told Palestinians to move south, but as many as 300,000 people are believed to have remained.

Additional reporting by AP and Reuters.