According to its Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority hopes a ceasefire can be agreed in the Gaza war in time for Ramadan.
This came as Israel and Hamas have been negotiating through mediators over a possible ceasefire in Gaza, with the aim of halting fighting in time for Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, which is due to begin this year on March 10 or 11.
Speaking at a news conference at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey, Maliki said that the Palestinian Authority would be “the only legitimate authority” to run Gaza after the war.
The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, lost control of Gaza to the Hamas militant group in 2007.
United States President, Joe Biden also said earlier that he hopes to see a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza reached by Ramadan.
“I’m hoping so, we’re still working real hard on it,” Biden was quoted as telling reporters at the White House when asked if he expected an agreement by the Muslim holy month.
He added, “We’ll get there, but we’re not there yet – we may not get there.”
The President announced that the US would soon start airdropping aid to Gaza, after dozens of desperate Palestinians were killed rushing an aid convoy.
Biden noted that the incident could complicate talks but did not comment on what was holding up a deal.
“I’m not going to tell you that because that’ll get involved in the negotiations,” he voiced.
In addition, the Palestinian Foreign Minister said that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is “prolonging the war” for his own interests.
He also warned that Netanyahu would likely order the invasion of Rafah if a ceasefire is not reached.
“The Israeli occupation aims to strike all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip”, including by starving and thirsting Palestinians in Gaza and “depriving them of their most basic human rights”, Malki said at the forum.
Gaza Death Toll Rises
The Health Ministry in Gaza announced that at least 30,320 Palestinians have been killed and 71,533 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
It added that 92 of those were killed and 156 wounded in the last 24 hours.
Israeli forces claimed to have killed dozens of fighters, destroyed rocket launchers and seized other weapons in Gaza over the past 24 hours.
Israeli military Spokesman, Avichay Adraee said on his official X account that this included killing 20 fighters in central Gaza and three fighters in the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City.
Meanwhile, UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality, stated that the war in Gaza is “also a war on women.”
The UN agency said that Israeli forces have killed an estimated 9,000 women since October, with an average of 63 women expected to be killed each day the war continues.
“Nearly nine in 10 women report finding it harder to access food than men,” UN Women said, adding that about four out of five women report that their family eats half or less of the food they used to before the war.
“As the war on Gaza approaches its five-month mark, Gazan women continue to suffer its devastating impact,” the agency said in a statement.
It stressed, “While this war spares no one, UN Women data shows that it kills and injures women in unprecedented ways.”
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