*As U.S. advises Israel to postpone ground offensive
Swedish foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom on Monday said European Union (EU) countries are still discussing the idea of a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
According to the Ministry, there are different ways to get much-needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
“The discussions are ongoing, but the question really isn’t about a ceasefire, but about how to bring aid forward and that can be done in very many different ways,” he told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
He said Sweden preferred a U.N. proposal for a humanitarian corridor.
Earlier on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell voiced support for a “humanitarian pause” but some of the bloc’s foreign ministers expressed reservations about the idea.
U.S. ON GROUND OFFENSIVE
The U.S. has advised Israel to postpone its planned ground offensive in the Gaza Strip against the Islamist Hamas organisation, according to local media reports.
The U.S. government hopes to obtain more time for negotiations to secure the release of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The aim is to avoid further civilian casualties and to ensure that more humanitarian aid reaches the population in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the ground offensive after Hamas killed hundreds of people and kidnapped more than 200 in terrorist attacks on Israeli territory on Oct. 7.
Since the attack, according to its own statements, the Israeli army has attacked hundreds of Hamas targets in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
On Friday, Hamas surprisingly released two U.S. hostages, which prompted the U.S. government to advise Israel to postpone the ground offensive, the report said.
The Islamist group, designated as a terrorist organisation in the U.S. and the European Union, had warned that a ground offensive would make it very unlikely for further hostages to be released.
These negotiations primarily take place through Qatar, which has close ties with the political leaders of Hamas.
