– Biden calls on Qatar and Egypt to pressure Hamas
The President of the United States called on the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to obtain from Hamas the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
Published today at 02:48
Joe Biden.
AFP
US President Joe Biden has asked the leaders of Qatar and Egypt to “do everything possible” to obtain the release of hostages from Hamas as part of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Ministry announced on Monday. White House.
Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to reach a truce in the Palestinian territory, which has been relentlessly bombarded and completely besieged by Israel since the bloody Hamas attack on October 7. Representatives of Egypt, Qatar and Hamas met in Cairo on Monday, with the Palestinian movement expected to give its response to a proposed second truce in Gaza coupled with the release of hostages.
Joe Biden subsequently spoke with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi about the “agreement currently on the table,” the White House said in two almost identical press releases. The American president urged these two Arab leaders very close to the United States to “do everything possible to obtain the release of the hostages held by Hamas, because this is the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire” .
A Source close to Hamas told AFP that the Palestinian movement’s delegation had left Cairo for Doha, where its political office is located, and that a response would be given “as quickly as possible.”
The head of American diplomacy on a trip to the region
In Riyadh, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken said on Monday that he “hoped” for a favorable response from Hamas to an “extraordinarily generous” proposal from Israel.
It includes a “40-day ceasefire” as well as the “release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of these hostages,” said the head of British diplomacy David Cameron, also in the Saudi capital. . Since the start of the war, only one week-long truce has been established at the end of November.
Despite the disapproval of many capitals and humanitarian organizations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nevertheless says he is determined to lead an offensive on the overcrowded town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which has become a huge camp for displaced people sheltering nearly one and a half million Palestinians in catastrophic health conditions.
AFP
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