Israel accepts US proposal for temporary ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan

Israel has agreed to a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan and the Jewish Passover holiday, as announced by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office late on Saturday night, 1 March.

The Muslim holy month of Ramzan began on Friday and will last until 30 March, while the Jewish Passover week will be marked from 12 to 20 April.

According to the proposal by US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, on the first day of the extended ceasefire, about half of the 59 living and dead Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be returned. At the end of the outline period, if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, the rest of the hostages would be released, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement said that Witkoff proposed extending the ceasefire after he felt that bridging the parties' positions to end the war was impossible at this stage and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire.

It added that "while Israel has agreed to the Witkoff outline to return our hostages, Hamas has so far stuck to its refusal to accept this outline."

"While Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement, Israel is not in violation," the statement reads. "If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff outline."

The statement also stressed that Israel may return to fighting if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective, as the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire-hostages agreement expired on Saturday.

Despite Israel's acceptance, Hamas has so far rejected the proposed extension of the initial ceasefire phase. The group favors focusing on negotiating the second phase of the truce, aiming to address broader conflict issues and secure the release of all hostages, the AP reported.

With IANS inputs