Israel-Gaza Truce Talks To Resume In Cairo While Fighting Rages On

Israel and Hamas with mediators talks will be held in Cairo on Sunday to work out an acceptable negotiation.

Local residents conduct search and rescue efforts among the rubble of the destroyed apartment building belonging a family aftermath of Israeli attacks in Gaza on March 2.

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Negotiations are likely to resume in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday to work on a framework for a mutually acceptable formula to ensure a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. While a groundwork for a six-week long ceasefire has been established with Israel's consent, its implementation hinges on Hamas decision on Israel's condition to release hostages it has held in Gaza since its attacks on southern Israel on October 7.

According to Reuters, Israeli and Hamas delegations were expected to arrive in Cairo on Sunday. However, another Reuters report indicated that Israel would not send a delegation until it received a comprehensive list of hostages who are still alive that were taken during the October 7 attacks. 

After the previous round of talks by Qatar and Egypt in Doha, and indications from the US President Joe Biden that an agreement was close, a long ceasefire was expected.

On Saturday, a senior US official told Reuters that the groundwork for a six-week ceasefire had been established with Israel's consent. However, its implementation now hinges on Hamas agreeing to release hostages it has held in Gaza since its attacks on southern Israel on October 7.

"The path to a ceasefire right now literally at this hour is straightforward. And there's a deal on the table. There's a framework deal. The Israelis have more or less accepted it," the official told Reuters. "The onus right now is on Hamas."

Biden said he hopes a ceasefire will be in place by the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on March 10.

Biden and other global leaders face mounting pressure to ease the increasingly dire situation of Palestinians following five months of conflict and the Israeli blockade of Gaza. According to the United Nations, a quarter of the population, totaling 576,000 people, is on the brink of famine. 

The attack on 118 civilians waiting for food aid near Gaza City on Thursday, triggered global outrage over the humanitarian crisis. 

Following which, Biden revealed plans for a US airdrop scheduled for Saturday, which also included the participation of Jordanian forces. Other countries including Jordan and France had already conducted airdrops of aid into Gaza.

According to Reuters, several experts said that expensive and inefficient airdrops highlighted Washington's limited influence over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Fight Rages On

In the early hours of Sunday, fighting intensified as residents reported heavy shelling and the advancement of tanks around Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.

In Rafah, another southern city where over 1 million Palestinians sought refuge near the border with Egypt, authorities reported 25 fatalities on Saturday and into Sunday morning. Among the victims were 11 individuals killed by an Israeli airstrike on a tent near a hospital, and 14 members of a single family who perished when their house was hit.

As per Reuters, Hamas maintains its position that a temporary truce must mark the beginning of a process aimed at ending the conflict entirely.