US wants a ceasefire in Gaza before the start of Ramadan – the night update without photos The end of the Russian T-14 super tank – and the adventurous reason for it

In the struggle for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war, the mediating states want to use all their power to reach an agreement between Israel and the Islamist Hamas shortly before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The US has submitted an amended draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate ceasefire”.

The draft resolution for the most powerful UN body states that there is “a rapid and urgent need for an agreement on an immediate ceasefire of approximately six weeks in Gaza and the release of all hostages.” The text was available to the German news agency on Tuesday.

Israel rejects an aid convoy, after which it is looted

According to the United Nations World Food Program, on the same day a convoy of trucks carrying food for people in the north of the closed coastal strip was turned away by Israeli soldiers and then looted by a desperate crowd.

As the World Food Program (WFP) announced in Rome on Tuesday, the food convoy consisted of fourteen trucks. He was turned away by Israeli forces after a three-hour wait at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. The trucks were diverted and later looted by a large number of people. They said they took about 200 tons.

On the same day, Jordan, the US and other countries coordinated the most extensive air aid deliveries to date. However, the United Nations is pushing to expand aid deliveries by truck. This is the only way to prevent famine in Gaza.

Biden wants to reach a ceasefire before Ramadan

US President Joe Biden stressed on Tuesday that a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan, which starts in a few days, is urgently needed. To buy time for talks on a longer ceasefire, negotiators from the US, Qatar and Egypt have proposed a first short ceasefire in Cairo, according to the American newspaper “Wall Street Journal”.

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The talks in the Egyptian capital will continue on Wednesday. “If we find ourselves in circumstances where this continues into Ramadan, it could be very, very dangerous,” Biden said in the US state of Maryland. Ramadan starts around March 10. “The hostage deal is currently in the hands of Hamas,” Biden added.

Israel and some negotiators believed that Hamas wanted to escalate the fighting to stoke tensions in the region during the Muslim holy month of fasting, the Wall Street Journal wrote. For its part, Hamas points to Israel’s threat to launch the planned ground offensive in Rafah on Gaza’s southern border if an agreement is not reached by Ramadan. Israel wants to destroy the last remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. In the city bordering Egypt, about 1.5 million Palestinians are currently seeking shelter from the fighting in other parts of Gaza.

Israel initially wants to give Muslims access to the Temple Mount during Ramadan

To prevent an escalation of tensions between Israelis and predominantly Muslim Palestinians, the Israeli government initially wants to allow Muslims to pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount during Ramadan. During Ramadan, they will be allowed access to the shrines as in previous years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Tuesday evening. However, the security situation is reassessed weekly.

Netanyahu’s right-wing extremist coalition partners had demanded massive restrictions on Muslim access to the Temple Mount during Ramadan. However, the army and secret services advised against this. Such restrictions could create an explosive situation, they argued. The Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif, is sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

Lebanon: Indirect talks about conflict with Israel during Ramadan

According to Lebanese sources, indirect talks in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon will also begin during Ramadan. Acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced this on Tuesday, according to state news agency NNA.

Lebanese officials were considering a proposal from US envoy Amos Hochstein, an adviser to US President Joe Biden, who was in the Lebanese capital Beirut for talks the day before. It was said to be a diplomatic solution between the Hezbollah militia and Israel. Since the start of the Gaza war following the massacre by Hezbollah-affiliated Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7 last year, there have been repeated shellings in the Israeli-Lebanese border area.

The Gaza negotiations must continue

Meanwhile, mediators in the Gaza war want to continue their talks in Cairo on a ceasefire and the release of hostages, Egyptian security circles said. According to information from dpa, they are said to be in an advanced stage. They could broker a ceasefire and exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners within days, it was said.

Hamas has responded positively to proposals from Qatar and Egypt in the past two days, a senior Hamas official said in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday evening. He emphasized Hamas’ position: “The security of our people can only be achieved through an end to aggression, a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza.” However, Israel has so far rejected a comprehensive ceasefire and continues to seek the destruction of Hamas. From Israel’s perspective, only a temporary ceasefire in Gaza is conceivable within the framework of an agreement.

The telephone network in the Gaza Strip has failed again

Meanwhile, telecommunications services in the Gaza Strip are reportedly down again. The southern part of the closed coastal area was particularly affected, the organization NetBlocks, known for monitoring internet blockages, said late Tuesday evening on the X platform (formerly Twitter). The Israeli news site “Ynet”, citing reports from the Gaza Strip, also reported that internet connections were disrupted in large areas in Rafah, the southern coastal strip and the central part of Gaza. Since the start of the war, communications networks in the closed coastal area have failed several times. (sda/dpa/con)