WASHINGTON, D.C. (SDJW) — President Biden said the situation will be “very, very dangerous” if a ceasefire deal for Gaza cannot be concluded before the Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Sunday, March 10. “It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” Biden said. “The Israelis have been cooperating, the offer is rational. We’ll know in a couple of days. But we need a ceasefire. … If we get into circumstances where this continues to Ramadan, Israel and Jerusalem could be very, very dangerous.”
Biden’s comments to reporters were echoed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “It is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that ceasefire,” he said. He also demanded that more humanitarian aid be allowed by Israel into Gaza. “There’s no excuses, none,” he declared. On Tuesday, cargo planes operated by the United States and Jordan airdropped 36,000 meals into Gaza — the second such operation within a week.
Meanwhile, ceasefire talks continued in Cairo, Egypt, without the participation of an Israeli delegation. U.S., Egyptian, Qatari, and Hamas delegations were discussing a proposal for a six-week truce with dozens of Israeli hostages being exchanged for some multiple of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declined to send a delegation because Hamas did not provide an accounting of how many hostages were dead and how many were still alive. Hamas later said that it couldn’t provide such a report because the ongoing war made such an accounting impossible.
In related news:
–Former U.S. President Donald Trump was asked in a Fox News interview whether he was in “Israel’s camp.” He responded, “Yes.” Asked if he supported Israel’s offensive in Gaza, he answered, “You’ve got to finish the problem.”
— Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that indirect talks with Israel will be held next week during Ramadan in an attempt to resolve the conflict on their border and obtain a ceasefire as outlined by visiting American envoy Amos Hochstein. On Tuesday, 30 rockets were launched from Lebanese territory at the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. Ten were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and the other 20 landed without subsequent reports of destruction or injuries.
–After the United Nations published a paper on Monday saying there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that rapes and gang rapes had taken place on Oct. 7 in at least three locations attacked by Hamas, and that there is information that hostages held in Gaza are being similarly attacked, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog commented that the report “substantiates with moral clarity and integrity the systematic, premeditated, and ongoing sexual crimes committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women. The world must react strongly by condemning and punishing Hamas.” The U.N. report also noted that Palestinian prisoners release from Israeli jails complained of “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including increased instances of various forms of sexual violence.” Allegations were made about invasive body searches, women being forced to remove their head coverings, and threats of rape against women or female family members.
–The IDF said it has destroyed a tunnel network that extended for 4 kilometers from a point located 400 meters from the Erez border crossing towards Jabalia, a neighborhood in northern Gaza that is considered a stronghold of Hamas. The IDF said the tunnels were large enough to drive vehicles through. In another dispatch, the IDF said it killed around 20 terrorists in the most recent day of fighting in Gaza. Additionally, targets including launching pads, and weapons depots, as well as the tunnels were successfully targeted, the IDF said.
— Gaza officials said 17 people in Khan Younis were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday. The Hamas run Health Ministry now pegs the death toll at 30,631, without differentiating between civilians and combatants. It estimates that an additional 72,000 people have been wounded.
–Israel’s Defense Minister said escalating attacks by Hezbollah from Lebanon may force Israel to commence military operations in that country. In connection with a meeting with Amos Hochstein, the U.S. special envoy to the region, Gallant was quoted as saying, “We are committed to the diplomatic process. However, Hezbollah’s aggression is bringing us closer to a critical point in the decision-making regarding our military activities in Lebanon.”
–India advised its nationals working in areas of Israel bordering Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza to relocate to safer areas, adding that “the Embassy remains in touch with the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety of all our nationals.”
–U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, was confronted outside a Brooklyn movie theater by pro-Palestinian protesters who wanted her to outright describe Israeli military action as a “genocide.” During a Meet the Press interview in January, Ocasio-Cortez had been asked if she agreed that President Biden had been supporting a genocide. She responded then: “I think what we are seeing right now throughout the country is that young people are appalled at the violence and the indiscriminate loss of life.” Walking away from the protesters in Brooklyn who were videoing the confrontation, she yelled, “You’re gonna cut this, you’re gonna clip this so that it’s completely out of context. I already said that it was. And y’all are just going to pretend that it wasn’t over and over again. It’s fucked up, man! You’re not helping your people!”
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SDJW compilation of stories from its news services