Israel-Hamas war: Hoping for Gaza ceasefire deal by Ramadan, says Biden

United States President Joe Biden said on Friday (March 1) that he was hoping there would be a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas by Ramadan as theconflict in the Gaza Strip intensified. "I'm hoping so, we're still working real hard on it. We're not there yet," President Biden told reporters at the White House when asked if he expected a deal by Ramadan, which will start on March 10 or 11.

"We'll get there but we're not there yet -- we may not get there," Biden said. The war has been going on for nearly five months and international pressure ismounting for a ceasefire in Gaza. 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 conflict.

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Speaking to the news agency Reuters, a source said the Paris proposal would see militants free some but not all of the hostages in return for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees, a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, and Israeli troops pulling out of populated areas in the enclave.

US to airdrop food and supplies into Gaza: Biden

On Friday, President Biden announced plans to carry out a first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza. Biden said the airdrop would take place in the coming days but offered no further specifics. "We need to do more and the United States will do more," he told reporters, adding that aid "flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough."

Meanwhile, White House spokesperson John Kirby said that Washington was going to redouble efforts to open up a maritime corridor into Gaza to bring "hopefully large amounts" of humanitarian aid by sea.

"Matter of fact, as the president just announced, the United States will carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza in coordination with our international partners, particularly Jordan, in the coming days. We're also going to redouble our efforts to open up a humanitarian maritime corridor to deliver amounts of humanitarian assistance by sea, hopefully, large amounts by sea," Kirby told reporters.

World leaders call for probe into Gaza aid deaths

World leaders on Friday called for an investigation into the deaths of Palestinians during a confused incident in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. According to Palestinian authorities, Israeli forces killed more than 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City early on Thursday.

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Israel blamed most of the deaths on crowds that swarmed around aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also said troops had "in a limited response" later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat.

The health ministry in Gaza said that 115 people were killed and more than 750 wounded in the incident. Earlier, Biden said that Thursday's incident would complicate ceasefire talks.

(With inputs from agencies)