Warring sides still cautious after Biden says Gaza truce is close

Main mediator Qatar says breakthrough in Israel-Hamas talks yet to be reached

Israel, Hamas and Qatari mediators all expressed caution on Feb 27 about progress towards a truce in Gaza, after United States President Joe Biden said he believed a ceasefire deal could be reached in less than a week that would halt the war for Ramadan.

Hamas is now weighing a proposal, agreed by Israel at talks with mediators in Paris last week, for a ceasefire that would suspend fighting for 40 days, the first extended truce of the five-month-old war.

According to a source close to the talks, the proposal would see militants free some but not all of the hostages they are holding, in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza and Israeli troops pulling out of populated areas in the enclave.

But it appears to stop short of satisfying Hamas' main demand for any agreement to include a clear path towards a permanent end to the war and Israeli withdrawal, or resolving the fate of Israeli men of fighting age among the hostages.

In remarks broadcast on a latenight talk show after midnight on Feb 27, Mr Biden said Israel had already agreed to halt fighting in Gaza for Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, which is expected to begin in two weeks, on March 10.

"Ramadan is coming up, and there has been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out," Mr Biden said on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Earlier on Feb 26, Mr Biden said he hoped a ceasefire agreement would be hammered out by March 4. "My national security adviser tells me that they are close. They are close. They are not done yet.