Biden hopes to have Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in place by next week

U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday that he hopes a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would pause hostilities, and allow for theremaining hostagesheld in Gazato be released, can take effect by early next week.

"Well, I hope by the beginning of the weekend, by the end of the weekend," he told reporters in New York, when asked Monday when he expected a ceasefire to start.

"My national security adviser tells me that we're close. We're close. We're not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire."

Earlier on Monday,Biden saidIsrael would be willing to halt military activitiesin Gaza during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan if a deal can reached to release some of the hostages.

Negotiators from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are working on a framework deal under which Hamas would free some of the dozens of hostages it holds, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a six-week halt in fighting.

During the temporary pause, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages.

Biden made the remarksduring an appearance on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers.Biden's remarks were recorded on Monday and broadcast on Tuesday.

The draft proposal, which a senior source close to truce talks in Paristold Reuterswould allow hospitals and bakeries in Gaza to be repaired and 500 aid trucks to enter the battered enclave every day, is the most serious attempt in weeks to end the conflict which erupted in October last year.

Ramadan begins on the evening of March 10this year and ends on the evening of April 9.

"Ramadan is coming up, and there's been an agreement by theIsraelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan, as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out,"Bidensaid on Meyers's show.

WATCH | Biden says he's been advised Israel-Hamas ceasefire is close:

Biden says Gaza ceasefire possible by Monday

8 months ago

Duration 0:20

U.S. President Joe Biden says he's been advised a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be reached by Monday, March 4, but warned that it is 'close ... but not done yet.'

In public, both sides continued to take positions far apart on the ultimate aims of a truce, while blaming each other for holding up the talks.

After meeting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Ismail Haniyeh, the reclusive head of Hamas, said his group had embraced mediators' efforts to find an end to the war, and accused Israel of stalling while Gazans die under siege.

"We will not allow the enemy to use negotiations as a cover for this crime," he said.

IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready for a deal, and it was now up to Hamas to drop demands he described as "outlandish" and "from another planet."

"Obviously, we want this deal if we can have it. It depends on Hamas. It's really now their decision," he told U.S. network Fox News. "They have to come down to reality."

Plan for Rafah offensive

Netanyahu had said Sunday that an Israeli military offensive in Rafah,Gaza's southernmost city along the border with Egypt, could be "delayed somewhat" if a deal for a weeks-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is reached.

He claimedthat total victory in Gaza will be "weeks away" once the offensive begins in Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians have sought safety.

Early Monday, Netanyahu's office said the army had presented to the War Cabinet its operational plan for Rafah, as well as plans to evacuate civilians from the battle zones.

It gave no further details.

The situation in Rafah has sparked global concern.

Israel's allies have warned that it must protect civilians in its battle against Hamas militants.

The bodies of 90 people killed in Israel's latest bombardment were brought to hospitals in the war-wrecked territoryin the past 24 hours, Gaza's Health Ministryreported Monday.

Hospitals have also received 164 wounded, it said.

The fresh fatalities brought the death toll in Gaza to 29,782 since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, the ministry said in its daily briefing.

The ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants, but said two-thirds of the dead are children and women. Another 70,043 have been wounded since Oct. 7, it said.

The ministry said many casualties remain under the rubble, and first responders have been unable to retrieve them amid the relentless bombing.

The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 people hostage, according to the Israeli government.

The government believes some 130 captives remain in Gaza, but officials believe at least 31 hostages are dead.

LISTEN | Palestinian aid worker on life in Rafah as Israelioffensive looms:

The Current19:20Humanity itself [has] failed us, says aid worker in Rafah

Rights groupsaysIsrael not complying with ICJ ruling

Human Rights Watch said Monday Israel has failed to comply with an order by the United Nations' top court to provide urgently needed aid to desperate people in the Gaza Strip, a month after a landmark ruling in The Hague ordered Israel to moderate its war.

In a preliminary response to a South African petition accusing Israel of genocide, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in the tiny Palestinian enclave.

It stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel denies the charges against it, saying it is fighting in self-defence.

In its Jan. 26 ruling, the ICJordered Israel to follow six provisional measures, including taking "immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance" to Gaza.

Israel also must submit a report on what it is doing to adhere to the measures within a month.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said late Monday that it has filed such a report. It declined to share it or discuss its contents.

Human Rights Watch said Israel was not adequately facilitating fuel deliveries to hard-hit northern Gaza and blamed Israel for blocking aid from reaching the north, where the World Food Program said last week it was forced to suspend aid deliveries.

"The Israeli government has simply ignored the court's ruling, and in some ways even intensified its repression," said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.

WATCH | Israeli airstrikes put Gaza's largest hospital out of service:

Gazas largest hospital out of service as peace talks stall

8 months ago

Duration 2:15

Officials say Gazas largest hospital is out of service after a round of airstrikes. As peace talks between Israel and Hamas stall, former prime minister Stephen Harper speaks out against a two-state solution.

Gaza residents desperate for food

The crisis has pushed a quarter of the population toward starvation and raised fears of imminent famine, especially in the northern part of Gaza, the first focus of Israel's ground invasion.

Starving residents have been forced to eat animal fodder and search for food in demolished buildings.

Israel said 245 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Sunday, but that's less than half the amount that entered daily before the war.

Human Rights Watch, citing UNfigures, noted a 30 per centdrop in the daily average number of aid trucks entering Gaza in the weeks following the court's ruling.

LISTEN | Group of Canadian doctors details week in Gaza treating Palestinians:

Day 63:20Canadian doctors bear witness to life in Rafah as aid dries up

Israel denies it is restricting the entry of aid and has instead blamed humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, saying large aid shipments sit idle on the Palestinian side of the main crossing.

The UNsays it can't always reach the crossing because it is at times too dangerous.In some cases, crowds of desperate Palestinians have surrounded delivery trucks and stripped them of supplies.

The UNhas called on Israel to open more crossings, including in the north, and to improve the process.

Netanyahu's office said that the War Cabinet had approved a plan to deliver humanitarian aid safely into Gaza in a way that would "prevent the cases of looting."

It did not disclose further details.

Aid groups say deliveries also continue to be hobbled by security issues.

The French aid groups Mdecins du Monde and Doctors Without Borders each said that their facilities were struck by Israeli forces in the weeks following the court order.

WATCH | Netanyahu's post-war plan includessecurity control over Gaza, occupied West Bank:

Netanyahu releases plan for after war in Gaza ends

8 months ago

Duration 2:09

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is revealing his plan for the day after the war in Gaza ends. It includes Israeli security control over Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as buffer zones in Gaza. It makes no mention of the Palestinian Authority or the establishment of a Palestinian state key U.S. and international demands.