Following the first successful airdrop of U.S. aid into Gaza on Saturday, the Defense Department is planning additional launches in the coming days, according to a White House official.
At the same time, a senior official in US President Joe Biden's administration said that Israel has “basically accepted” a proposal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza and is now waiting for Hamas.
Check out what is known so far about the latest developments involving the war in the Middle East:
US launches air aid into Gaza
After the US dropped air aid on Gaza – in a joint operation with Jordan – White House officials said they saw Palestinian civilians distribute tens of thousands of meals among themselves. Biden said on Saturday (2) that the amount of aid going to Gaza is not enough.
Meanwhile, aid agencies have criticized US airdrop plans as ineffective, while the United Nations warns that hundreds of thousands of people in the enclave are on the brink of starvation and US ally Israel continues to obstruct aid deliveries.
Ceasefire and hostage agreement negotiations
A senior Biden administration official said there is a “framework agreement” that Israel has “more or less accepted.” The critical point, says the official, is that Hamas has not yet agreed to release a “defined category of vulnerable hostages”.
A CNN reported on Friday that authorities believe ongoing negotiations to reach an agreement in time for Ramadan, which begins in just over a week, were still on track – even after more than 100 Palestinians were killed on Thursday (29) while trying to access food in Gaza City.
More talks are planned in Cairo, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
US deputy to meet with Israeli minister
As negotiators try to reach an agreement, US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz on Monday, according to a White House official.
Gantz – who last month warned that Israel would expand military operations in the far southern city of Rafah if hostages held by Hamas were not returned by the start of Ramadan – is also expected to meet with the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Jihad encourages attacks
The Al-Quds Brigades, the militant wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, called on residents of the West Bank and Jerusalem to attack checkpoints and roads used by Israeli settlers during Ramadan, according to the group's spokesman.
The Islamic organization is considered the second largest militant group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas. While Hamas is holding most of the hostages, videos from Palestinian Islamic Jihad suggest the group is also holding some of them in Gaza.
Strike in Rafah
At least 11 people – including two health workers – were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp near a maternity hospital in Rafah, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that they were targeting Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Rafah and that the hospital in the area was not damaged.
Source: CNN Brasil
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