Gaza: Ceasefire Talks Resume in Qatar
Israeli Tanks in Gaza, Aug 2024 Photo:@Reuters
August 15, 2024 Hour: 5:31 pm
Israel and the US, with the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, resumed negotiations in Doha on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
Negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, presented by US officials as a «final phase» to end the Zionist escalation, resumed on Thursday, while local health authorities reported that the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupiers in Gaza has exceeded 40,000.
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CIA Director William J. Burns and the White House Coordinator for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, joined Israeli officials as well as mediators from Egypt and Qatar, to hold further talks in Doha aimed at ending the escalation unleashed by Zionism in Gaza.
However, no Hamas representatives attended, according to Ghazi Hamad, a member of the group’s diplomatic team, after its chief negotiator, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed during a trip to Tehran last month.
Although Israel has not publicly confirmed or denied its role in the assassination of the Hamas leader, it has privately conveyed to US officials that it was responsible.
The meeting of mediators in Doha to end the war on Gaza will resume on Friday
The talks are being resumed amid tension on the southern border of Lebanon, where Israel has shelled several regions, allegedly in retaliation for shots fired by the Lebanese resistance, and threatens to extend the conflict.
Hamas, for its part, says it will resume talks if it receives what it calls a «clear commitment» from Israel on its latest proposal. The group has informed the mediators that it is willing to meet with them after the Thursday session if there are any developments or a serious response from Israel.
The resumption of dialogue comes just as the Gaza Ministry of Health declared on Thursday that the death toll among Palestinians had already exceeded 40,000 people, This underlines the extent of the ravages of Israeli crimes in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Last week, the leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar issued a joint statement urging Israel and the Hamas movement to urgently resume talks on a settlement that would relieve the population of Gaza.
A framework agreement was «now on the table and only the details of its implementation remained to be finalised», they said, adding that they were prepared to present a bridging proposal which would overcome their differences if necessary.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: EFE-WAFA
