Israel’s war on Gaza live: Hamas views Biden’s truce offer ‘positively’
Hamas says it regards President Joe Biden’s ceasefire proposal “positively”, raising hopes of a halt to Israel’s eight-month war that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians – mostly children and women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The United States president says the new Israeli proposal for a Gaza truce is “a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages”, adding that “it’s time to end this war”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has backed Biden’s ceasefire proposal, saying he is working with France’s partners in the region for “peace and security for all”.
“The release of the hostages, a permanent ceasefire to work towards peace and progress on the two-state solution,” Macron wrote on X.
An Al Jazeera correspondent has reported that two Palestinians have been killed and others have been injured in an Israeli bombing targeting a school housing displaced people in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, southeast of Gaza City.
After being displaced due to Israel’s attacks on Rafah, seven-year-old Ahmed fled with his family but made sure to take his plants with him as a “symbol of hope”.
US, Egyptian and Israeli officials are scheduled to meet on Sunday in Cairo to discuss the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing, a high-level source told Egypt’s state-linked Al Qahera TV.
Al Qahera reported that Egypt is insisting that Israel withdraw its forces from the crossing. Israel seized the Gaza side of the crossing in May during its offensive on Rafah, southern Gaza.
Palestinian Red Crescent Society says 33 of its members have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, is urging Netanyahu to heed Biden’s call for a Gaza truce and has offered his party’s support to the government.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 95 people have been killed and 350 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
Three Palestinian men have been shot and injured by Israeli forces during a military raid on Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
Medical sources said the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration has risen to 37 people in Gaza, Wafa news agency reports.
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanke Bruins Slot says she commends the ceasefire plan presented by Biden.
“The Netherlands supports the efforts of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in mediating this plan. It is imperative to ultimately work towards a two-state solution, the most effective path to achieving sustainable, lasting peace.”
Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot arrives for a NATO foreign ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 3
Hanke Bruins Slot arrives for a NATO foreign ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels [File: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP]
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Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for intercepting and shooting down the Israeli drone that we reported on earlier.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it downed a Hermes 900 drone in solidarity with Gaza, where Israel has been waging an almost eight-month-old war against Hamas, another Iranian-backed group.
Federico Dessi, the Middle East director at Humanity and Inclusion, says Israel’s military offensive can have long-term consequences for children.
“Unfortunately, thousands of children have suffered from amputations, fractures, injuries of different kinds, and they need rehabilitation support, some of them would need support for the rest of their lives.”
But Dessi told Al Jazeera that these services were not available in Gaza at the moment.
“There are few humanitarian organisations like us providing services at a very small scale. It’s also difficult to bring in additional supplies like wheelchairs, crutches and assistive devices; there’s no prosthetic service functional at the moment,” he said.
“So, they [children] have been left in the care of their families and unable to recover and spring back from this trauma.”
Dessi said the daily violence on children can have both short and long-term impacts. “The entire population of children, more than 600,00, are out of school since October and that’s in itself a trauma for them.”
“They are exposed every day to the impacts of bombardment and military attacks.”
The war, Dessi said, was a life-changing event and highly traumatic.
“It will create a situation where these children [who have lost their parents and relatives] will hardly be able to overcome psychologically.
“There are few psychosocial services available at the moment. And in any case, the situation is so destructive that there’s only so much a psychologist and social worker can do to address the trauma of the brutal war.
“Children need safety and the war must end. All humanitarian actors need full and unimpeded access so we can reach children and provide them services they need, as well as their families,” Dessi said. wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev wev
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