US, Jordan support ceasefire efforts in Gaza

Senior officials from the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar are expected to meet in Cairo to discuss a three-phase framework to free the hostages and achieve a lasting ceasefire, sources familiar with the matter said.

My Jordan supports it at Gaza truce ahead of new strikes picture 1 — US President Joe Biden and King Abdullah of Jordan attend a news conference after their meeting at the White House in Washington, US, on February 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS

Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire

“The United States is working on a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that will bring an immediate and lasting period of calm to Gaza for at least six weeks,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday after talks with Abdullah.

Saying he was working on the issue “day and night”, Mr Biden said the six-week pause in hostilities would lay the groundwork “to build something more lasting”.

For his part, Mr. Abdullah stressed the urgency of the plight of the Palestinians, especially the more than one million civilians seeking refuge in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

“We cannot stand by and let this continue,” he said. “We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end.”

Israel launched an operation on Monday to free two Israeli-Argentine hostages held by Hamas militants in Rafah, near the Egyptian border. The two were among 250 people captured in an October 7 Hamas raid on Israel that sparked Israel’s war in Gaza.

The Palestinian Authority's official television station, Palestine TV, said 74 people were killed in the Israeli military operation. There was no immediate confirmation from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the successful mission showed military pressure would continue in Gaza, and he dismissed international warnings about plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, where Israel believes Hamas forces remain.

America disappointed with Israel

Mr Biden has grown increasingly frustrated with Mr Netanyahu for failing to heed his advice to do more to minimize casualties and protect civilians in Gaza.

After more than four months of fighting, much of the densely populated area has been reduced to rubble, with 28,340 Palestinians killed and 67,984 injured, according to Gaza health officials. Many more are believed to be buried under the rubble.

Mr Biden has urged Israel not to launch a ground offensive in Rafah without a plan to protect Palestinian civilians gathered there, many of whom are already living in flimsy tents after being displaced multiple times to escape conflict in other parts of Gaza.

Last week, Mr. Netanyahu ordered the military to draw up plans to evacuate civilians to protect them in the event of a ground attack. Asked about the plan to evacuate civilians, an Israeli military spokesman said on Monday that he did not yet know how it would be carried out.

The United Nations on Monday stepped up its calls for a ceasefire and rejected the idea of displacing civilians in Rafah. "We will not participate in the forced displacement of civilians. As it stands, there is no safe place in Gaza," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

“You can’t put people back in areas littered with unexploded ordnance, not to mention the lack of shelter,” he said.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell suggested on Monday that the way to reduce civilian casualties is to stop supplying weapons to Israel.

The US is Israel’s biggest foreign arms supplier, providing $3.8 billion in military aid annually. The State Department said cutting aid would not “have a greater impact than steps Washington has already taken.”

Last week, Mr Netanyahu rejected Hamas' latest offer of a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire, in which all hostages would be freed, Israel would withdraw from Gaza and a deal would be reached to end the war.

Hamas' offer was a response to an earlier proposal made by US and Israeli intelligence officials and passed to Hamas by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Mai Van (according to Reuters)

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