Geneva [Switzerland], August 9: In a statement, US President Joe Biden , Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed that it was time to end the prolonged suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, as well as release the hostages held by Israel and Hamas, Axios reported .
"A framework has been put on the table and only the details of how it will be implemented remain. There is no time or excuse for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, initiate a ceasefire and implement the agreement," the three leaders said in a joint statement.
The leaders of the United States, Qatar and Egypt said they had also prepared a final proposal and would present it if necessary, to resolve outstanding issues and meet the expectations of all parties. The group of mediating countries also called on Israel and Hamas to continue negotiations on August 15 in Doha ( Qatar ) or Cairo (Egypt) to soon complete the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would send a delegation to finalize the details of the Gaza ceasefire framework and the release of hostages. Hamas has not yet commented on the joint statement from the US, Qatar and Egypt.
A senior Israeli official revealed that the idea of the August 15 talks had been floated by the US in recent days and Tel Aviv had known in advance about the joint statement of the three countries.
Another senior US official said there would be preparatory talks from both sides before the official day of negotiations. He added that it would be difficult to sign an agreement on August 15, which is the first step to reaching consensus.
The Israeli military on August 8 ordered a large-scale evacuation around the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, saying Tel Aviv would launch an attack in response to rocket attacks from Palestinians, according to ABC News.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
