[ad_1]
The White House said Thursday that recent ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip with senior U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar, got off to a “good start,” but a deal appeared imminent.
“Today is a promising start,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “There is still a lot of work to be done. Given the complexity of this agreement, we do not expect today’s negotiations to result in an agreement,” he added.
The talks are expected to continue until Friday. CIA Director William Burns is participating in those talks.
Negotiators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar met with an Israeli delegation. Hamas said on Wednesday it would not take part in the talks, but its representatives may meet with mediators later, Reuters reported.
Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip say Israel’s military operations have killed more than 40,000 people. On October 7 last year, Hamas launched an attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250. Hamas militants are still holding 100 hostages.
Palestinian officials say the war’s victims are mainly women and children, while Israel says most of them are Hamas militants.
“The remaining obstacles are surmountable, and we need to conclude this process,” Mr. Kirby said. “We need to see the hostages released, relief for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, security for Israel, and a reduction in tensions in the region. These things should be done as soon as possible.”
Kirby said that because the framework agreement had been widely accepted, the talks were mainly about implementation, but did not specify details.
The talks are important because, in addition to ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, fighting has intensified between the Israeli army and Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border. Commercial shipping in the Red Sea continues to be targeted by Yemeni Houthi militants, and Iran has threatened to retaliate for Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the killing, Iran and Tehran-backed groups have accused Israel of killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
A senior Hezbollah military commander was also recently killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut.
Three senior Iranian officials said a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would be the only way to prevent retaliation for the killing of the Hamas leader, Reuters reported.
The plan discussed in Doha was originally a three-stage “proposal” for a ceasefire put forward by US President Joe Biden on May 31. The proposal called for a six-week ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas of Gaza, and the release of women, the elderly and injured hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Under the proposal, humanitarian aid would be increased and Palestinians would be able to return to their homes.
The six-week ceasefire will enter its second phase, which includes the release of all hostages and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The truce will then be made permanent.
The third phase of the proposal envisages the start of Gaza reconstruction.
The fighting continued as talks took place in Doha, Qatar.
The West Bank Health Ministry said on Thursday that the Israeli army killed two Palestinians in an airstrike on a refugee camp. Seven people were injured. The Israeli army reported that two armed militants who posed a threat to security forces in the area were killed in the attack. /Voa
[ad_2]
Source link
