The heads of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have urged both Israel and Hamas to convene on 15th August to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release pact in Gaza. The potential negotiation, according to the triumvirate who have been attempting to orchestrate an agreement, could transpire in Cairo or Doha.
A proposed framework deal is in motion, with only the specifics of execution remaining, they informed. They further emphasised that there remains no room for additional procrastination nor any justification for further delays from any side. The leaders called for the start of the ceasefire, release of the hostages, and deployment of the agreement. They also proposed to provide ‘a closing integrative proposal’ settling the remaining issues.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, affirmed the presence of Israeli negotiators. The objective, he explained, is to “finalize the particulars and deploy the proposed agreement.” Nonetheless, there hasn’t been any immediate response from Hamas.
The statement surfaced as part of a campaign, initiated by the tripartite leaders, to reignite conversations amidst burgeoning apprehension about a possible larger confrontation in the area involving Iran, following the outlawing of senior figures from the insurgent groups Hamas and Hizbullah.
A higher-ranking US administration representative said that due to significant issues encompassing the sequencing of the swaps between Hamas and Israel, there isn’t an expectation for the pact to be ratified by next week. Reciprocity was required on both ends of the table, the representative pointed out. He also added that the statement wasn’t meant to manipulate Iran but warned that any escalation could threaten the prospects of accomplishing an Israel-Hamas deal.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s UN mission said it was concurrently pursuing two objectives, one being to establish an enduring ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring the occupiers’ retreat from this area. The other was to “chastise the assaulter,” in response to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the ex-political leader of Hamas, in Iran on July 31st.
Hamas instigated the conflict in Gaza on October 7th by assaulting the south of Israel, resulting in 1,200 fatalities and the abduction of 250 people to Gaza, as noted by Israeli sources. The Hamas-run health department in Gaza, which does not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants, reports that 39,699 Palestinians have succumbed to their injuries due to Israel’s armed operations in Gaza, as informed by Reuters.