US President Joe Biden discussed last night in two phone calls with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad, the latest developments in the joint mediation efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip.
The Spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Ahmed Fahmy, stated in a statement via Facebook that Biden’s call with President Sisi “came within the framework of the intensive mediation efforts made by the two countries to stop the ceasefire in Gaza and exchange detainees.”
He explained that the two presidents reviewed during the call the latest developments in the negotiation round currently hosted by Cairo, noting that they “stressed the importance of the commitment of the concerned parties to overcome obstacles and show flexibility to complete the agreement.”
For his part, the Egyptian president stressed that “reaching an immediate ceasefire agreement is of utmost importance at this critical time, whether to put an end to the catastrophic humanitarian suffering in the
Strip, or to end the escalation and spare the region the woes of expanding the scope of the conflict, with its serious repercussions on all the peoples of the region.”
In Doha, the Qatari Emiri Diwan said in a statement that Biden’s call with Emir Tamim addressed “developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, and joint mediation efforts to end the war on the Strip.”
On August 15 and 16, the Qatari capital, Doha, hosted a round of talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange, at the conclusion of which the mediators announced that Washington had submitted a new agreement proposal to narrow the gaps between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, an Israeli security delegation arrived in Cairo last Thursday to participate in the ceasefire talks in Gaza, with negotiations expected to resume today, Saturday, or tomorrow, Sunday.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority said yesterday, Friday, that “the meetings that took place on Thursday between the Egyptian and Israeli delegations did not result in
any progress,” without mentioning further details.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency