Joe Biden says ‘very dangerous’ if no Gaza ceasefire by Ramadan

U.S. President Biden urges Hamas to accept Gaza ceasefire deal by Ramadan as humanitarian crisis worsens.

U.S. President Joe Biden on March 5 called on Hamas to accept a Gaza ceasefire deal by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while the Palestinian militant group warned talks for a truce and hostage release cannot go on "indefinitely".

As famine threatens Gazans, U.S. and Jordanian planes again airdropped food aid into the besieged territory of 2.4 million people in a joint operation with Egypt and France.

Bombing and fighting in the war sparked by the October 7 attack killed another 97 people in Gaza, said the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, where Israel said its jets had struck 50 targets over the past day.

In Cairo, U.S. and Hamas envoys were meeting Egyptian and Qatari mediators in protracted negotiations to end the fighting and free hostages before Ramadan starts on March 10 or 11.

Egypt's Al-Qahera News, which is close to the country's intelligence services, said the talks were "ongoing" and would continue for a fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.

The parties in Egypt — so far excluding Israel — have discussed a plan for a six-week truce, the exchange of dozens of hostages for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and increased aid into Gaza.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official in Beirut, said the Islamist group would "not allow the path of negotiations to be open indefinitely".