Warring sides still cautious after Biden says Gaza truce is close

DUBAI/WASHINGTON/CAIRO – Israel, Hamas and Qatari mediators all expressed caution on Feb 27 about progress towards a truce in Gaza, after United States President Joe Biden said he believed a ceasefire deal could be reached in less than a week that would halt the war for Ramadan.

Hamas is now weighing a proposal, agreed by Israel at talks with mediators in Paris last week, for a ceasefire that would suspend fighting for 40 days, the first extended truce of the five-month-old war.

According to a source close to the talks, the proposal would see militants free some – but not all – of the hostages they are holding, in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza and Israeli troops pulling out of populated areas in the enclave.

But it appears to stop short of satisfying Hamas’ main demand for any agreement to include a clear path towards a permanent end to the war and Israeli withdrawal, or resolving the fate of Israeli men of fighting age among the hostages.

In remarks broadcast on a late-night talk show after midnight on Feb 27, Mr Biden said Israel had already agreed to halt fighting in Gaza for Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, which is expected to begin in two weeks, on March 10.

“Ramadan is coming up, and there has been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out,” Mr Biden said on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Earlier on Feb 26, Mr Biden said he hoped a ceasefire agreement would be hammered out by March 4. “My national security adviser tells me that they are close. They are close. They are not done yet. My hope is by next Monday, we will have a ceasefire,” he said.

But Qatar, which has acted as the main mediator and is now hosting delegations from both sides to hammer out the terms of the deal, said a breakthrough had yet to be reached.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed Al Ansari said: “We don’t have a final agreement on any of the issues that are hampering reaching an agreement.

“We remain hopeful – not necessarily optimistic – that we can announce something today or tomorrow. But we remain hopeful that we can get to some kind of agreement.”

Two senior Hamas officials said Mr Biden’s remarks suggesting the agreement had already been reached in principle were premature.

There were “still big gaps to be bridged”, one Hamas official told Reuters. “The primary and main issues of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces are not clearly stated, which delays reaching an agreement.”

Israel did not comment on Mr Biden’s remarks, but unidentified officials were quoted by Israeli media as saying they too were caught off guard by the US President.

Israeli news website Ynet quoted unidentified senior Israeli officials as saying they did not understand “what (Mr Biden’s) optimism is based on”.

Hamas has consistently maintained that it would free its hostages only as part of a deal that included a way to end the conflict.

Israel has said it will consider only temporary pauses, and would not end the war until the militant group which precipitated it by attacking Israeli territory on Oct 7 is eradicated.

A senior source close to the talks said the draft proposal sent to Hamas was for a 40-day truce during which Hamas would free around 40 hostages – including women, those under 19 or over 50 years old, and the sick – in return for around 400 Palestinian detainees at a 10-for-one ratio.

Israel would reposition its troops outside of settled areas. Gaza residents, apart from men of fighting age, would be permitted to return home to areas previously evacuated, and aid would be ramped up, including urgent equipment to house the displaced.

Mr Biden told NBC that Israel risked losing international support unless it takes more steps to spare civilians.

Israel has threatened to attack Rafah, the last city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, where more than half of its 2.3 million residents are hemmed in, most sleeping rough in makeshift tents or public buildings.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as “delusional” an earlier Hamas counter-offer for a ceasefire during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.

He said he would not halt the war until Hamas is eradicated.

On Feb 26, Mr Netanyahu repeated his description of Hamas’ demands as “from another planet”, and said it was up to the group to decide whether to accept Israel’s latest offer.

Mr Netanyahu has rejected an independent Palestinian state as incompatible with Israel’s need for full security control of all land between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea.

Hamas killed 1,200 people and captured 253 hostages on Oct 7, according to Israeli tallies, triggering a ground assault on Gaza, with nearly 30,000 people confirmed killed, according to the Gaza health authorities.

In Gaza, there were mixed feelings about the prospect of a truce that might stop short of a permanent end to the war.

“We don’t want a pause, we want a permanent ceasefire, we want an end to the killing,” Mr Mustafa Basel, a father of five from Gaza City and now displaced in Rafah, told Reuters.

“Unfortunately, the people’s conditions are so grim that some may accept a pause, even (just) during Ramadan.

“People have mixed feelings, they want a permanent end to the war, but the dire conditions make them want a pause even for a month or 40 days in the hope it becomes permanent,” he said.

REUTERS