 "US President Joe Biden. Reuters File")
After months of stalemate over a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, US President Joe Biden has now urged Egyptian and Qatari leaders to convince Hamas to reach a deal with Israel, an American official said ahead of another round of negotiation talks in Cairo.
Washington, Egypt and Qatar have been engaged in weeks of behind-the-scenes talks in a bid to secure a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.
On Friday, the White House hinted that temporary ceasefire negotiations between the two warring sides would take place in Cairo over the weekend. It is, however, not confirmed whether CIA Director Bill Burns will be attending the talks alongside Mossad’s chief David Barnea, contrary to what some US media reports say.
Biden, in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, “made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, now held by Hamas terrorists for nearly six months,” a senior Biden administration official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Biden reportedly has written letters to the President of Egypt and the Emir of Qatar, “urging them to secure commitments from Hamas to agree to and abide by a deal.”
During the phone call between Biden and Netanyahu on Thursday, the former emphasised the need for a hostage deal and “empowering his negotiators to come to (a) conclusion on this.”
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More Shorts“This basic fact remains true: There would be a ceasefire in Gaza today had Hamas simply agreed to release this vulnerable category of hostages – the sick, wounded, elderly, and young women,” the US official said Friday evening.
With inputs from agencies