CAIRO/RAFAH/GAZA STRIP: Talks on a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas were deadlocked on Wednesday (Mar 6), as the humanitarian crisis in Hamas-run Gaza prompted growing Western concern and a Houthi attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden killed at least two people.
Negotiators from the Palestinian militants, Qatar and Egypt – but not Israel – are trying to secure a 40-day ceasefire in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins early next week.
Urging Hamas to accept the terms on the table, US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that ally Israel was cooperating and “a rational offer” had been made for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.
“It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” he told reporters.
The United States is worried that the Gaza conflict could spread in the Middle East, especially after a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by Iran-aligned Houthi forces acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.
In the latest attack, at least two sailors were killed in a Houthi attack on a freighter, US and British officials said, the first deaths reported since the Yemeni group began the strikes against shipping in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.
A shipping source said earlier that four sailors were severely burnt and three missing. The Greek operator of the Barbados-flagged True Confidence said the vessel was struck about 50 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni port of Aden and was ablaze.
The US State Department said it would continue to hold the Houthis accountable for such attacks.
Source: CNA
