According to a report in the Washington Post, Israel and Hamas are close to a possible ceasefire agreement. In a US-brokered deal, the two warring sides are considering a five-day ceasefire during which dozens of Israeli hostages held by the Islamist terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip could be released. The newspaper reported this on Sunday evening, citing people familiar with the regulations. In response to the message, Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, wrote on Platform
According to the Washington Post, the release of the hostages could begin in the coming days, provided there are no last-minute problems. The cessation of hostilities should also allow significantly more humanitarian aid, including fuel, to reach the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The draft agreement was reached after weeks of talks in the Qatari capital Doha between Israel, the US and Hamas.
Following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 dead, approximately 240 hostages were abducted to the Gaza Strip – most of them kidnapped by Hamas. Israel then launched massive airstrikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in late October. According to Palestinian information, more than 11,500 people have been killed so far. According to the UN, the supply situation is catastrophic. Israel is under international pressure for its warfare.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is now working hard on a plan to rescue the remaining patients from Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip. WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote this to X on Sunday evening. Employees visited the hospital on Saturday and found a desolate situation. There is no water, electricity or food there and there are hardly any medical needs left.
The team found a mass grave at the entrance to the hospital and was told that more than 80 people were buried there, the WHO wrote in a statement on Saturday.
“Given this deplorable situation and the condition of many patients, including infants, staff have requested assistance in evacuating terminally ill patients who can no longer be cared for there,” the WHO chief said. They are working on it together with partners and demand support for this plan. Tedros did not mention Israel, whose army has taken over the hospital, or Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, by name. “The current situation is unbearable and unjustifiable,” he wrote. “Ceasefire. NOW,” he added.
US President Joe Biden has again spoken out in favor of the so-called two-state solution in the Middle East conflict and outlined how he envisions the time after the end of the Gaza war. In an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post, he also raised sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank. The Democrat again criticized “the extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.”
In the long article, Biden laid out what he believes the future in the region should look like – and how the path towards it should be shaped. “This much is clear: a two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” Biden wrote. “Even though it seems right now that this future has never been more distant, the crisis has made it more urgent than ever.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Saturday evening for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip. In a televised speech, Abbas called on US President Biden to “intervene and immediately stop this aggression.” He asked: “What is the United States waiting for in light of the ongoing genocide against our people in Gaza?” Abbas also called on Biden to push for more humanitarian aid to the blockaded coastal strip.
Several hundred people demonstrated against the Gaza war in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. The demonstration on the beach promenade took place at the initiative of the left-wing Chadash party, Israeli media report. Jewish and Arab Israelis protested together against a continuation of the military operation in the Gaza Strip.
“An eye for an eye and we are all blind,” read one of the signs. The Kan TV station reported that the demonstrators had called for the replacement of “the worst government in Israel’s history.”
The news site “ynet” reported that there was a counter-demonstration with several dozen participants. There were verbal and physical confrontations between the two sides. Anti-war protesters were pelted with water bottles. Participants in the counter-demonstration shouted “Go to Gaza” and “Death to the Arabs”.
The situation at Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip remains tense. The WHO is expected to move forward with its plans to save the remaining patients. It is also eagerly awaited whether and when the US-promoted ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will actually come about. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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