Humanitarian crisis deepens
\nNegotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt\u2013but not Israel\u2013are in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in the war
\nCAIRO\/ RAFAH
\nHamas stuck to its terms for a ceasefire deal and hostage exchange with Israel on Wednesday after the United States said truce talks in Cairo were \u201cin the hands of\u201d the Palestinian group.
\nNegotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt\u2013but not Israel\u2013are in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in time for the month of Ramazan, which begins early next week.
\nUrging Hamas to accept the terms on the table, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that US ally Israel was cooperating and \u201ca rational offer\u201d had been made for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s in the hands of Hamas right now,\u201d Biden told reporters. \u201cIf we get to the circumstance that it [fighting] continues to Ramazan … it\u2019s gonna be very dangerous.\u201d
\nHamas pledged to continue to take part in the Cairo talks, but Hamas officials said a ceasefire must be in place before hostages are released, Israel must withdraw from Gaza and all Gazans must be able to return to homes they were forced to flee.
\n\u201cWe are showing the required flexibility in order to reach a comprehensive cessation of aggression against our people, but the occupation is still evading the entitlements of this agreement,\u201d Hamas said in a statement.
\nA source earlier said Israel was staying away from the Cairo talks because Hamas refused to provide a list of hostages who are still alive. Hamas says this is impossible without a ceasefire as hostages are scattered across the war zone.
\nIsraeli forces, which began their offensive in Gaza after the deadly Hamas raid on Israel on Oct. 7, have continued bombarding the Palestinian enclave since the talks began in Cairo on Sunday, and the dire humanitarian situation in the densely populated coastal strip has deteriorated further.
\n\u201cEvery day costs us dozens of martyrs [dead]. We want a ceasefire now,\u201d Shaban Abdel-Raouf, a Palestinian electrician and father of five from Gaza City, who is now in the southern city of Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.
\nResidents of Khan Younis reported hearing explosions all night. Israeli warplanes struck areas of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and Deir Al-Balah city in central Gaza, and part of the southern city of Rafah, witnesses said.
\nHealth officials in Hamas-run Gaza said the number of people confirmed killed in Israel\u2019s offensive had now passed 30,700, with 86 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
\nPalestinian health officials later said seven people had been killed when Israeli forces fired on groups in central Gaza. Israel did not immediately comment on the report and the circumstances were unclear.
\nDeal on the table
\nA deal is being sought before Ramazan because Palestinian-Israeli violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories often spikes during the fasting month, as does hostility towards Israel in the Arab and Muslim world, creating a strong incentive for leaders to clinch a deal before then.
\nThe deal presented to Hamas would free some of the hostages it still holds following the Oct. 7 attack, in which Israel said 1,200 people were killed and 253 abducted.
\nAid to Gaza would be increased to try to avert famine as hospitals treat acutely malnourished children, and Hamas would provide a list of all the hostages held in Gaza.
\nIn Beirut, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said any exchange of prisoners cannot take place until after a ceasefire.
\nIsrael wants merely a pause in fighting to get hostages out of Gaza and more aid in, and says it will not end the conflict before Hamas is \u201celiminated\u201d.
\nSenior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Hamas had presented its own draft deal and was awaiting a response from Israel, and that \u201cthe ball now is in the Americans\u2019 court\u201d.
\nThe United States on Tuesday revised language in a draft UN Security Council resolution to back \u201can immediate ceasefire of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages\u201d, according to the text seen by Reuters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Humanitarian crisis deepens Negotiators from Hamas, Qatar and Egypt\u2013but not Israel\u2013are in Cairo trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in the war CAIRO\/ RAFAH Hamas stuck to its terms for a ceasefire deal and hostage exchange with Israel on Wednesday after the United States said truce talks in Cairo were \u201cin the hands of\u201d the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-391955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n