The three countries urge Israel and Hamas to sit in negotiations on August 15
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have called on the leaders of Israel and Hamas to sit down for talks on August 15. This was called for in a joint statement to finalize the ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the Gaza Strip. The US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas. In the statement they said, this discussion can be held in Doha or Cairo.
An outline of the agreement is now on the negotiating table, the statement added. Now the details of its implementation remain to be determined. There is no time to waste. There is no room for any party to make excuses for the delay.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli negotiators would be there. Their aim is to finalize and implement the detailed outline of the agreement.
Hamas, the Palestinian independence movement, did not immediately respond.
The statement by the three countries comes at a time when there are fears that Iran will launch a revenge attack on the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, sparking a major conflict in the region.
A senior US administration official said there is no hope of a settlement agreement being signed within the next week. Because, it will take time to address various important issues including negotiations between Hamas and Israel. Both parties should be active at the negotiating table.
The US official said that the message was not directed at Iran. But any escalation would jeopardize any hope of a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier on Thursday, the UN Mission in Iran said that they want two things to be prioritized.They are the establishment of a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of the occupiers from the territory. Apart from this, Iran also wants to ensure the punishment of those involved in the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on July 31.
Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year. Israel claims that 1,200 people were killed and 250 people were taken hostage in that attack. In response, Israel started attacking the Gaza Strip from that day. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks so far.
