The US claims that the outline for a cease-fire in Gaza is in place – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

That is what a senior US official says on Saturday, Reuters and AFP write. The source states that Israel has “more or less” accepted the temporary ceasefire agreement. It is now up to Hamas to agree to release hostages for the agreement to enter into force. Earlier on Saturday, Egyptian security sources reported that the parties must have agreed on the duration of the ceasefire and on the exchange of hostages and prisoners of war. The plan is that during these six weeks a more long-term agreement will be drawn up, writes CNN. The problem, says the American source, is that Hamas has not yet agreed to define a “category of vulnerable hostages”. According to the agreement, it is this group that must be released first, says the official. The implementation of the agreement also requires that Israeli forces withdraw from northern Gaza. It is expected that the talks will continue on Sunday. President Joe Biden has stated that he hopes a ceasefire will be in place by Ramadan, which starts on March 10. Hamas took about 250 Israeli and foreign nationals hostage during the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. It is believed that they still have around 130 hostages, but that not all of them are alive. At the same time, over 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities. Almost 70,000 are said to have been injured. On Saturday, the United States released emergency aid with around 38,000 meals across the Gaza Strip, after more than 100 Palestinians were killed as they flocked to a truckload of emergency aid on Thursday. But the airdrops are not enough to replace the enormous need for food and emergency aid, says the same official on Saturday. – None of these – maritime corridors, airdrops – are an alternative to the basic need to get help through as many land crossings as possible. Israel is criticized for preventing emergency aid from entering the Gaza Strip. The World Food Program (WFP) had to stop all food deliveries to northern Gaza last week. The UN justified this with Israeli gunfire and “complete chaos and violence due to the breakdown of civil order”. Aid organizations fear a famine disaster, and describe that people are so starving and desperate that the little food that comes in cannot be distributed in the normal way.



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