Qatar, Egypt, and US call on Israel, Hamas to finalize cease-fire proposal pushed by Biden

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – In a joint statement, Gaza cease-fire mediators Qatar, Egypt, and the US called on both Israel and Hamas to finalize an agreement embodying the principles just outlined by the US for a lasting cease-fire.

“As mediators in the ongoing discussions to secure cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees, Qatar, the United States, and Egypt jointly call on both Hamas and Israel to finalize the agreement embodying the principles outlined by President Biden,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement on Saturday, citing Biden’s Friday night address on the proposed deal.

“These principles brought the demands of all parties together in a deal that serves multiple interests and will bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families,” added the statement.

They further emphasized that “this deal offers a roadmap for a permanent cease-fire and ending the crisis.”

US President Joe Biden said on Friday that Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group Hamas with a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

Biden appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition opposed to the plan.

Netanyahu's office on Friday reiterated his intention to continue the country's offensive in the Gaza Strip until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved.

Hamas said it would "respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced, and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal."

Since last Oct. 7, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.

Over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. Most of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.