Israel has accepted a framework deal for a six-week truce in Gaza throughout Ramadan amid ongoing mediation efforts by Qatar, the U.S. and other parties.

Israel has accepted the terms of a framework deal over a six-week truce in Gaza with hopes of securing an agreement before Ramadan, Axios reported on Saturday, citing a United States official.

“The Israelis accepted the terms of the deal and if Hamas agrees, a six-week ceasefire can start immediately,” the official told reporters of numerous news agencies and outlets in a conference call.

The remarks were part of a briefing to reporters as the U.S. joined the international airdrop operations of aid into Gaza. The American military jets, U.S. C-130s, dropped 38,000 meals on the coastline of Gaza, according to the Central Command.

The airdrops come as mediators continue negotiating a possible truce deal that would entail the entry of much-needed aid into Gaza, where starvation has hit unprecedented levels, especially in the isolated northern part.

The U.S. official who spoke to reporters said that “the deal is on the table”.

“The talks continue in Doha and we hope we can get a deal by Ramadan. The ball is in Hamas’s court. We continue to push as hard as we can,” the official said, as quoted by Axios.

A senior Hamas official told AFP on Sunday that a truce was possible within “24 to 48 hours” if Israel accepts its terms, which include the return of displaced Palestinians and entry of aid into Gaza.

“If Israel agrees to Hamas demands, which include the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza and increasing humanitarian aid, that would pave the way for a (truce) agreement within the next 24 to 48 hours,” the official told the French news agency.

Israel and its ally, the U.S., have been blocking all ceasefire attempts in Gaza and vowing to continue the war on the already-impoverished and besieged enclave.

Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than 70% of whom are women and children.

The war has displaced more than 80% of Gaza’s population while forcing Palestinians in the Strip to starve to death under Israel’s chokehold over the entry of aid. 

While the total figure of Palestinians who died as a result of hunger remains unclear, harrowing reports continue to unveil the nearly daily deaths of children and newborns due to the absence of food supplies.

On February 28, at least six infants died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the Al Shifa Medical Complex in northern Gaza due to severe malnutrition, according to Palestine’s news agency, Wafa.

Israel also targeted hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza near the Nabulsi roundabout on February 29 as they were collecting aid, killing more than 100 people. 

Qatar condemned the massacre and demanded urgent international action.

“The continuation of the occupation’s brutal crimes as part of its brutal war on Gaza Strip proves day after day the pressing need for urgent international action to immediately end this unprecedented aggression in recent history,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement on February 29.

Palestinians on the ground in Gaza have not been able to access the entirety of the airdropped aid as most of it would end up falling into the sea.

Also, the aid is insufficient to meet the needs of the 2.2 million starving population.

Mediators, including Qatar and Egypt, have been racing to secure a deal just in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which would begin in the second week of March.

On Thursday, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the developments in Gaza in a phone call. 

This followed a phone call between Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. 

The conversation also dealt with “ the efforts of the two countries to reach an immediate ceasefire in the Strip and accelerate the pace of bringing humanitarian aid into Gaza without obstacles.”

The phone calls came after Paris hosted a second round of talks last month with the attendance of officials from Qatar, Egypt, the U.S., and Israel. The first such talks took place on January 28.

A Hamas delegation was also expected in Cairo on Saturday for talks, a source close to the Palestinian group told AFP.

Qatar’s prime minister is scheduled to visit Washington on Monday to chair the sixth Qatar-U.S. Strategic Dialogue, where talks will likely tap into the situation in Gaza.