US president Joe Biden says a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could start within days and last through Ramadan, with Qatar expressing hope on Tuesday that ongoing negotiations would produce a deal before the Muslim fasting month.
In the protracted bid to broker a truce nearly five months into the devastating war, mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been putting proposals to the parties.
They are seeking a six-week halt to the fighting and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the war.
Biden is hopeful that there will be a ceasefire by next Monday.
The truce deal could include the release of several hundred Palestinian detainees held by Israel, media reports suggest.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Doha says we are going to push for a pause before the beginning of Ramadan” which starts on march 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.
there has been huge international pressure, including from the United States, for Israel to hold off on sending troops into rafah, where nearly 1.5 million palestinian civilians have sought refuge from the fighting.