US, Arab allies calls for Gaza cease-fire talks

The U.S., Qatar and Egypt are calling for a new round of cease-fire talks on Aug. 15, the latest attempt by the Biden administration to end the war in Gaza even as the region braces for an expected Iranian attack on Israel, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

In a statement on Thursday evening Washington time, the three nations mediating long-stalled talks between Israel and Hamas said they have “called on both sides to resume urgent discussion on Thursday, Aug. 15, in Doha or Cairo to close all remaining gaps” and implement a deal without delay.

“As mediators, if necessary, we are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties,” according to the agreement signed by President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Israel will send a delegation to the Aug. 15 talks, according to a post on X from the prime minister’s office. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

The U.S. doesn’t expect an agreement will be ready to be signed immediately on Aug. 15 as there’s still a significant amount of work to do, with both sides holding to firm positions, a senior Biden administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters on a call on Thursday.

Still, the mediators believe that it’s possible to bridge the remaining gaps after a framework was agreed to in an initial, multiphase cease-fire proposal that Biden outlined in May, the official said.

For months, the talks have stalled, partly over Hamas’s insistence that a permanent halt to the hostilities be agreed to at the outset, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long insisted that after a pause Israeli forces must be allowed to continue the war until it destroys Hamas entirely.

News.Az