A Hamas official said Tuesday, March 5, that the process of negotiations with Israel for a truce in Gaza “will not be open indefinitely”as talks continue between Egyptian, American and Qatari mediators for an agreement before the start of Ramadan. “I will not stop pushing for an agreement guaranteeing the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas”, said Joe Biden in a tweet published overnight. During a press conference, Hamas official Osama Hamdane also reaffirmed theThe conditions set by his movement for a ceasefire, which include Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Follow our live stream.
Israel says it allows access to the Mosque Esplanade to Muslim worshipers. They will be allowed to pray at this place of worship in Jerusalem “in the same number as in previous years” during Ramadan, the Israeli government announced Tuesday. In the midst of the war in Gaza, the government specified that the number of worshipers authorized to go to the esplanade would be reassessed every week based on security criteria. The Muslim month of fasting sees tens of thousands of faithful come there each year to pray.
New drop of humanitarian aid in Gaza by the United States. American cargo planes dropped more than 36,000 meals in Gaza on Tuesday during a joint operation with Jordan, a US military source said. This humanitarian aid drop took place “in northern Gaza (…) at 2:30 p.m. (local time) to provide essential assistance to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict”specified the American military command in a press release.
More than 8,000 Gazan patients require medical evacuation, according to the WHO. For the World Health Organization, which has teams on the ground to provide logistical and health support, the transfer of these patients out of Gaza would partly relieve the medical teams and hospitals who are fighting to continue operating in a war zone. Of this total, around 6,000 Gazans are war victims who suffer from multiple traumas, burns and amputations, said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories, during a press briefing.
The Israeli army denies UNRWA’s accusations. In a press releasethe army denounces “blanket and unfounded accusations of sexual abuse of detainees in Israeli armed forces facilities”. She also accuses UNRWA of using “more than 450 terrorists” of the Islamist movement Hamas and other organizations in the Gaza Strip. Earlier in the day, the Israeli Foreign Minister recalled on his account its ambassador to the United Nations to denounce the “silence” by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on accusations of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.