Saudi foreign minister, US secretary of state discuss Gaza cease-fire proposal

By Anadolu staff

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed on Saturday the cease-fire efforts in the Gaza Strip and the specifics of President Joe Biden's proposal to end the war.

In a phone call, the two officials discussed “the proposal presented by US President Joe Biden regarding a cease-fire and a hostages swap deal in the Gaza Strip,” according to a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.

The Saudi official expressed “the Kingdom’s support for all efforts aimed at an immediate cease-fire, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, the provision of urgent humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the Israeli escalation, and the safe return of the displaced to their homes.”

He also stressed “the necessity of dealing seriously with every proposal that achieves a permanent cease-fire, and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”

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.

The US president appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stave off pressure from the members of his governing coalition who are opposed to the plan.

Nearly 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast swathes 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, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi.