TRANSCRIPT
In Gaza, desperate civilians are holding onto hope for a pause in Israel's military bombardment of the territory, as ceasefire talks continue.
These hopes come after US President Joe Biden hinted that a temporary ceasefire deal could be reached shortly at talks in Qatar that would pause fighting over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
REPORTER: "Could you get a sense of when that ceasefire will start?"
BIDEN: "My national security advisors tell me that we're close. It's not done yet, but my hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire".
The Israeli government, Hamas and Qatari mediators have been quick to temper these hopes as conflicting demands between the warring parties keeps the likelihood of the truce uncertain.
Hamas is weighing a proposal, agreed by Israel at talks with mediators in Paris last week, for a 40-day ceasefire, which would be the first extended truce of the five-month-old war.
So far, almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's recent assault on Gaza according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh says the group is considering the truce offer to protect civilians but is ready to fight on against Israeli forces too.
"Any flexibility we are showing in the negotiations is to protect the blood of our people and to put an end to their huge pains and sacrifices in the brutal war of extermination against it - in parallel, we are ready to defend our people."
A source close to the talks told Reuters that the proposed ceasefire would see hospitals and bakeries in Gaza repaired, 500 aid trucks enter into the strip each day and thousands of tents and caravans delivered to house the displaced.
Food shortages have been a problem across the Palestinian enclave since Israel escalated their blockade of the region into a siege following Hamas' October 7 attack which saw militants kill almost 1,200 people in southern Israel.
On Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that six children had died of malnutrition or dehydration in the previous 24 hour period in northern Gaza where aid deliveries have been incredibly rare.
In Jabalia refugee camp in the north, one mother says she's hopeful that the ceasefire will be permanent to allow an end to the humanitarian crisis.
"We hope this news is accurate and aid enters and bakeries work again, so the hungry people can find food to eat, and famine ends. We also hope this truce would be a long lasting one, not a temporary one, so we can meet our needs. A month and a half is not enough for people to meet their needs, you can see how people are starving, dying of hunger and thirst. Where are the human rights? We call on humanitarian organisations and those who have conscience to stand by us, we call on the free world to support this oppressed people."
And in Israel, families of the 134 remaining hostages are holding their breath for a deal that could see their loved ones return home.
The temporary ceasefire proposal would see militants free some but not all of the hostages in return for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
Israel has repeatedly refused Hamas' demands for a permanent ceasefire in exchange for all remaining Israeli hostages, saying they must push on to exterminate Hamas.
Amid a four-day march from the Gaza border to Jerusalem, Ronen Neutra, father of 22-year-old hostage Omer Neutra, says the Israeli government has a responsibility to secure the freedom of all - not just some - of the hostages.
"No one can be left behind, the living and the murdered. The war cabinet is responsible for ensuring that the current deal, all the hostages will be included. We cannot agree to leave any sector behind. Omer, just a little while longer. A deal is possible."
And as Muslims in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories prepare to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan which is expected to start on March 10th or 11th, an annual flare up in tensions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is expected.
The area, which is a holy site in all Abrahamic religions and is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, has been a flashpoint for violence between the religious groups in recent years.
Last year after evening Ramadan prayers, Palestinian Muslims barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa after reports that far-right Jewish groups would enter the compound to sacrifice a goat - an act that has traditionally been forbidden by Jewish religious leaders and was broadly seen as a provocative political stunt.
Following this, Israeli police raided the mosque in riot gear, injuring 50 worshippers and arresting at least 400.
And now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly agreed to limit access to the Al-Aqsa mosque for worshippers during Ramadan.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has called on Muslims to defy any potential restrictions.
"This is a call to our people in Jerusalem and West Bank and the occupied areas to march toward Al-Aqsa mosque from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, in individuals and in groups, to pray and stay in it and to break the siege of it."
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant claims that it is Hamas who is stirring up tensions in the area in an attempt to divide Israeli forces for strategic purposes.
"Hamas' top goal at this time is to cause a flare up in Temple Mount so that we are forced to take some of the pressure off Hamas and move resources and forces to the West Bank and Jerusalem. We must not give them that."
