Cairo, March 3: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reaffirmed the importance of fully and faithfully implementing the ongoing ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, stressing the necessity of transitioning to the second phase of the deal to ensure a lasting truce.

“Since the first phase has been completed, we should now begin discussions and consultations on the second phase. The ultimate goal is to sustain the ceasefire agreement,” Abdelatty said at a joint press conference in Cairo with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.

Abdelatty condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to stop the entry of aid to Gaza. He said that using aid as a weapon of collective punishment and starvation in Gaza is unacceptable and impermissible, affirming that this act represents a blatant and explicit violation of international humanitarian law, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Egyptian top diplomat emphasised that Egypt is actively coordinating with the US and Qatar, hosting delegations, and intensifying discussions to ensure the agreement’s implementation, maintain the ceasefire, and facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza.

“We continue our intensive efforts to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire and to initiate negotiations on the second phase,” he told reporters.

He also reiterated that the establishment of a Palestinian state is the only viable path to long-term security and stability in the region.

He emphasised Europe’s crucial role, both politically in maintaining regional peace and economically in supporting the upcoming reconstruction of Gaza.

Israel and Hamas have been implementing a ceasefire agreement since January 19, following more than 15 months of a deadly conflict in Gaza. The first phase of the ceasefire agreement ended on Saturday.

Hamas has said it was ready to open negotiations on the second phase, but Israel presented a new framework that would extend the first phase until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, which ends on April 20, describing it as an outline of US envoy Steve Witkoff. Under the proposal, Hamas would free half the hostages on the first day, with the remaining captives freed at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is achieved.

Gaza, March 3: Amid widespread devastation and family losses, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip welcomed this year’s holy month of Ramadan with heavy hearts and weary bodies, following 15 months of Israeli assault on the besieged enclave.

While Muslims around the world welcomed Ramadan with prayer and festivity, the scene in Gaza tells a different story.

Gaza’s streets, once vibrant and full of life, now lie in ruins. The rubble of destroyed homes stands as a haunting reminder of the devastation, while the air is thick with the smell of gunpowder, death, and decay.

With the first phase of the ceasefire between Palestinians and Israel having ended on Saturday and no sign of a second phase, Gazans now live in heightened anxiety, fearing the war could resume at any moment, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Every day that passes without shelling brings a sense of relief. But at the same time we live in fear that the attacks will start again,” said Om Mohammed al-Najjar from Khan Younis, southern Gaza. She lost her home in the recent bombardment.

“We have suffered enough. Ramadan should be a time of peace, but here, there is no peace,” she said.

Mohammed Al-Dahdouh, a 45-year-old father of four from Gaza City, recalled how his family joyously decorated their home with lanterns and vibrant colors. The kitchen would be filled with the delicious aroma of maqluba and qatayef, traditional Middle Eastern dishes, and laughter would echo throughout the house.

“Ramadan used to mean family gatherings around the iftar table, the sound of children’s laughter, and the smell of food filling the house,” Al-Dahdouh told Xinhua. “Now, there is no home, no table. We are crammed into a small tent, and the food we have barely suffices,” he added.

“We cling to life because we have no other choice. We are people who love life, and we have the right to live in peace and safety,” he said.

In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia, Suzanne Abdel-Ati strolls between the tents standing on open land, exchanging greetings with her new neighbours, most of whom are displaced like herself.

“During the war, the army killed my entire family, and now I am left with only two children,” Abdel-Ati told Xinhua.

She recalled the days when her family would gather each night to break the fast. “Now, they lie beneath the earth,” she added quietly.

Tasaheel Nassar, a Palestinian woman from Rafah city who lost her husband, brothers, and parents in an Israeli airstrike, told Xinhua, “The holy Ramadan month has lost its spirit here in Gaza. There are no lanterns, no decorations, no bustling markets. Instead, there is death’s silence and the ever-present smell of destruction.”

“Our loved ones are gone, and we no longer have the strength to carry on,” she said, adding, “The pain is constant, and now it is worse because the holy Ramadan month brings memories of the family I lost.”

Some Gazans choose not to surrender. Thirty-five-year-old Arkan Radi from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, along with his friends, has hung some Ramadan decorations in their tent.

“We know that the decorations won’t change our reality,” Radi says, “but they are a message that we are still here, still holding on to life, even in the darkest times. It’s not a solution, but I want to bring some hope and joy to my children.”

New York, March 1: Democratic Party leaders have accused US President Donald Trump of batting for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the public showdown with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, on Friday.

Democratic Party’s Senate leader Chuck Schumer said in a scorching post on X, “Trump and [Vice President JD] Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work. Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for freedom and democracy”.

Former Speaker and Democratic Party’s senior leader Nancy Pelosi called the Oval Office confrontation a “shameful display”.

“Putin must be overjoyed with today’s theatrics”, she said on X.

Engaging in a “dignified manner” with Zelensky “would’ve been a show of strength for the President of the United States”, she added.

The Democratic Party leader in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jean Shaheen said in a statement, “Russia has not been able to break Ukraine’s spirit nor its will to fight. We are certain President Trump’s childish tantrum will not reach that objective either”.

She added, “Today’s behaviour by President Trump and Vice President Vance would be more shocking if it wasn’t the new normal”.

Support for Zelensky flowed in from Democrat governors who declared, “We, along with millions of Americans, stand united with the Ukrainian people”.

“Americans must protect our strong democratic values on the world stage instead of undermining President Zelensky’s work to fight for his nation and the freedom of his people after being invaded by Russia”, the Democratic Governors Association said.

Democratic Party leader in the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries said, “Today’s White House meeting with the President of Ukraine was appalling and will only serve to further embolden Vladimir Putin, a brutal dictator”.

Zelensky “went into the Oval Office and stood up to Russia’s best negotiators”, Representative Eric Swalwell said sarcastically on X.

Senator Mark Warner called Trump’s conduct “beyond bizarre”

“Today is a great victory for authoritarians across the globe — Trump is abandoning our allies and embracing our adversaries”, he added in his post.