2024-08-15 17:40:38
Qatar resumed talks on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages amid concerns about a further escalation of the Middle East conflict. The United States, France and Britain made it clear on Thursday that the talks in Qatar’s capital Doha were vital to the security of the entire region.
However, US National Security Adviser John Kirby said the talks were off to a “good start”. The new round of talks follows calls from Qatari, US and Egyptian mediators. William Burns, Director of the CIA’s Foreign Intelligence Service, will participate in the talks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel will send David Bania and Ronan Barr, the heads of foreign intelligence agency Mossad and domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, to Doha. It was initially unclear whether the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas would be represented.
A representative of the radical Palestinian Islamist group, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “negotiations with the mediators are ongoing and have even intensified in the past few hours.” He said Hamas wanted “the Biden plan to be implemented , not just negotiation for the sake of negotiation,” he said, referring to the ceasefire proposal proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden at the end of May.
Biden’s multi-phase plan is the basis for restarting negotiations. It initially envisaged a six-week ceasefire that could be extended for negotiations to permanently end the fighting. In addition, Israeli forces should withdraw from residential areas in the Gaza Strip and release Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
US security adviser Kirby said the talks were off to a “good start”. The two sides have reached an agreement on the framework of the agreement, and now it is a matter of implementation. “Given the complexity of the deal, we don’t expect there to be a deal today,” Kirby said in Washington, where he expected talks to continue on Friday.
Mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar have been trying for months to achieve a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Biden has expressed hope that the Gaza ceasefire agreement will also prevent Iran from attacking Israel and prevent further escalation of conflicts in the region. Germany, France and Britain have also recently stepped up pressure on parties to the conflict to find a negotiated solution.
“We are at a critical moment for global stability,” British Foreign Secretary David Lamy said after talks began on Thursday. “The coming hours and days may determine the future of the Middle East,” he continued. French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné stressed after a meeting with Lebanese President Nabih Berri that a ceasefire “is necessary to ensure peace in the region”.
Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah militias have threatened Israel with retaliation since the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut in late July. Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for both attacks. Amid the threat of escalation, the United States, Israel’s closest ally, has increased its military presence in the region and sent more warships and fighter jets.
Kirby stressed that it was unclear whether international pressure and negotiations had caused Iran to reconsider its position. However, the danger of an Iranian attack remains. “An attack could happen without warning,” possibly within the next few days, he said. “We have to be ready for this.”
Meanwhile, Israel continues to take action against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army, about 20 militants were killed in an attack in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said Thursday that more than 17,000 fighters from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 40,000, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry. The figures cannot be independently verified.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’s massive attack on Israel on October 7. According to Israeli statistics, 1,198 people were killed and 251 were kidnapped into the Gaza Strip. According to official sources, 111 people are still detained in Gaza, 39 of whom have died.
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