Israel and Hamas, through mediators, are trying to reach a deal that would pause fighting and release Hamas-held hostages for Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“We’ll know in a couple of days what’s going to happen,” President Biden told reporters Tuesday. “There’s got to be a cease-fire. If we get to [the] circumstance that it continues to Ramadan … it’s going to be very dangerous. So we are trying very, very hard to get a cease-fire.”
Here’s what to know about Ramadan, the holiest period in the Islamic calendar and the informal deadline for a Gaza cease-fire deal.
What is Ramadan, and how is it observed?
Ramadan is the most sacred month for Muslims around the world who believe that the Quran was first revealed to the prophet Muhammad during this time. Muslims are required to fast during Ramadan — abstaining from eating or drinking — between dawn and sunset. People eat their first meal, Suhoor, before sunrise and break their fast at Iftaar, most often starting with a date, at dusk.
What to know about the potential cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of the religion. The others are profession of faith, prayer five times a day, charity and pilgrimage to Mecca. “Many Muslims will engage in various acts of devotion, including reciting or reading from the Quran, participating in special nighttime prayers, and offering donations,” Mohammad Hassan Khalil, a professor of religious studies and director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University, said in an email. “If they already do all these things throughout the year, they are likely to do more of each in Ramadan.”
Ramadan is also seen as a month of giving: Muslims around the world are encouraged to donate to charity and think of others’ plights. Fundraising and campaign efforts for Gaza are likely to increase during the holy month as a result.
Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr, which many Muslims celebrate by dressing up in new clothes, making communal prayers and gifting money to children.
But the shadow of the war in Gaza, Khalil said, will make this Ramadan a somber time for many.
“One cannot begin to imagine how difficult this period will be for the people of Gaza. And for countless other Muslims who have been traumatized by the images and videos coming out of Gaza,” he said.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar, and it starts and ends with the sighting of the crescent moon. Based on the phases of the moon cycle, the lunar calendar has 354 days, so Ramadan begins 10 or 11 days earlier each year on the longer Gregorian calendar. This year, Ramadan is expected to start March 10 or 11.
Is a cease-fire going to happen by Ramadan?
U.S. officials say they have kept Ramadan in mind during the months-long negotiations for a cease-fire. “We’ve always wanted this in place for Ramadan — to have a Ramadan period in which you have calm and you’re able to do the essential humanitarian work,” a Biden administration official said during a briefing with journalists last week.
The contours of the deal known so far include a six-week pause in fighting in the first phase, during which humanitarian assistance to Gaza would be increased and some Palestinian prisoners in Israel released in exchange for the release of some hostages held in Gaza.
“There has been significant progress over the last few weeks. But like all things, until a deal is actually done, it’s not done,” the official said, adding that Israel had “more or less” accepted the proposal.
Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars in Gaza
Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, told The Washington Post on Tuesday that its delegation had presented to mediators its “vision” for a cease-fire, which includes a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza — even if executed in stages — and permission for displaced people to return home without preconditions.
Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Cairo was hopeful that an agreement on a cease-fire could come before the start of Ramadan. “I can say that we have reached a point of understanding; we will still exert every effort with our brothers in Qatar and the U.S. and others close to the negotiations,” Shoukry said, speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.
“Everyone recognizes that we have a time limit to be successful before the start of Ramadan,” he said.
Having a cease-fire in place for Ramadan is a key emotional goal for Muslims, who strive to exercise spiritual discipline and empathize with those less fortunate during the holy month. Pressure for a cease-fire from an already inflamed public in Muslim countries is expected to mount.
What about Ramadan tensions at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem?
The Holy Esplanade, where al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem sits, is revered in Judaism and Islam. For Jews, the site is known as Temple Mount, where the faith’s First and Second Temples once stood, and to Muslims, it is the Noble Sanctuary, the third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina and the place where Muhammad ascended to heaven on a night during Ramadan that is considered one of the holiest of the year.
Restrictions on access to al-Aqsa during Ramadan had been under discussion by the far-right Israeli government, but the prime minister’s office said Tuesday that worshipers’ access would be permitted, “similar to the numbers in previous years,” pending a weekly security assessment.
Ramadan brought rare calm, familiar worries to Jerusalem’s Old City
Devout Muslims tend to spend Ramadan’s late hours at the mosque, many performing “al-Taraweeh” prayers until close to dawn. Spending the final third of the night in prayer is considered the most commendable.
During Ramadan last year, Israel raided the mosque, injuring more than two dozen worshipers and arresting many more, sparking rocket fire from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. Hamas leaders have said their Oct 7. attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people was in response to violence at al-Aqsa and the punishing blockade and occupation of Palestinian land by Israel.
Hamas leaders have also said during conversations with The Post that the idea for the Oct. 7 attacks was born out of frictions that erupted earlier in Jerusalem, during Ramadan 2021. Tensions had built up during the holy month, and in its final days, Israeli security forces confronted Muslim worshipers in a raid on al-Aqsa. The events, Hamas leaders said, were the catalyst that pushed the group to set in motion plans for an attack.
Lior Soroka contributed to this report.