Biden says he hopes for Gaza ceasefire before Ramadan

As Ramadan quickly approaches, President Biden was hopeful of a ceasefire deal being reached between Israel and Gaza, AFP reported. 

This year, the month of fasting will begin on March 10 and will finish on April 8. 

Biden, who is facing pressure from a significant percentage of Democrat voters due to his administration’s stance on the conflict, acknowledged on March 1 that progress was being made with regards to achieving some form of ceasefire, but stressed that it is not yet sealed. 

Alongside Qatari and American mediators, Palestinian militant group Hamas were in Cairo on March 3 for talks on efforts to broker an agreement which would result in a halt in the fighting for six weeks. 

Netanyahu continues to remain reluctant to stop the Gaza bloodshed and stressed that Israel would not be pulling their troops out of the besieged enclave until Hamas was “crushed” and that all hostages were freed. 

READ: Jordan warns of regional war if Gaza killing continues

Recently, Mr Biden was asked by reporters as to when he thought a ceasefire will start to which he responded, “Well I hope by the beginning of the weekend (March 2), at least my national security advisor tells me that we’re close (to an agreement), we’re not done yet. I hope by next Monday (March 4), we’ll have a ceasefire.” 

Prior to the US airdropping aid into Gaza, the octogenarian noted that the amount of aid deliveries entering the territory was “nowhere near enough”. 

Food deprivation in Gaza is emphasised by countless accounts of residents saying that they have been forced to live off animal feed as well as the scenes in Gaza City where a desperate crowd attempted to pull out flour and cooking oil from an aid convoy. 

Dubbed the “flour massacre”, over 100 were killed and hundreds more were wounded on February 29 as belligerent Israeli forces fired at the crowd whilst they were trying to get basic necessities. 

Despite US officials increasingly sounding the alarm in Gaza and becoming more critical of Israel, its biggest ally in the Middle East, they have on three occasions vetoed draft resolutions, presented to the 15-member UN Security Council, calling for a permanent cessation of hostilities. 

AFP/BBC News

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