"I am confident that the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want the same thing - peace. A step in this direction could be a longer ceasefire: ideally during Ramadan. Such a ceasefire would finally ensure the release of Israeli hostages and an increase in the volume of humanitarian aid flowing into the Gaza Strip. The US president, me and many others advocate for this with all our persistence," Scholz said in a video message on Sunday.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 31,045 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.