For months, the USA, Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas – without much success. Recently, the situation in the Middle East has only worsened. The states are demanding that talks be resumed. Israel has already agreed.
The mediators in the difficult negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war have urged Israel and the Islamist Hamas to reach an agreement.
Both sides were called upon to resume talks on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and begin implementing the agreement without further delay,” said a statement signed by US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already confirmed that he will send representatives from the country to the meeting. “Following the offer from the US and the mediators, Israel will send a delegation of negotiators to a location to be determined on August 15 to clarify the details and implement the framework agreement,” Netanyahu's office said.
Concern about further escalation in the Middle East
The mediators' statement comes at a critical time when Iran and its allies such as Hamas have threatened retaliatory strikes against Israel over the killing of two senior figures in Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, raising concerns that the Gaza war is turning into a conflagration.
It is time to “provide immediate relief” to both the suffering population in the Gaza Strip and the hostages and their families, the three states said in the statement. The mediation teams had worked “tirelessly for many months to forge a framework agreement that is now on the table and for which only the details of implementation remain to be clarified,” they said. “There is no time to lose and no excuses for further delays.”
It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire and implement this agreement. They are ready, if necessary, to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a way “that meets the expectations of all parties,” the mediators said.
Biden had presented the plan
For months, Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been negotiating behind the scenes to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. The talks are centered on a plan unveiled by US President Biden in May, which Biden said was proposed by Israel.
