United Nations, 23 August 2024 (TDI): A Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement “now is in sight,” the US envoy to the United Nations (UN) told the Security Council on Thursday, urging members to press Hamas to accept a bridging proposal agreed to by Israel.
Months of on-off negotiations have circled the same matters, but Israel and Hamas have stuck to their demands.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said a bridging proposal presented last week by the US, Egypt and Qatar was consistent with a plan outlined by President Joe Biden in May and validated by the Security Council in June.
Israel has accepted the bridging proposal. Now Hamas must follow, she told the council. As members of this council, we must speak with one voice, and we must use our leverage to press the group to accept the proposal.
Disagreements over Israel’s future military presence in Gaza and over Palestinian prisoner releases are obstructing an agreement, stemming from demands Israel has introduced since Hamas accepted Joe Biden’s May proposal.
It’s a decisive moment for ceasefire negotiations and for the region, and so every member of this council should continue to send strong messages to other players in the region to avoid actions that would move us away from finalizing this agreement, said Thomas-Greenfield.
The conflict in Gaza put the whole Middle East region on edge, triggering months of border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, and threatening a wider escalation drawing in big powers.
Iran has also pledged retaliation over the assasination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, which it blamed on Israel.
Also Read More: New Round of Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations Begins in Qatar
There is very serious danger of regional escalation, Thomas-Greenfield said. So let us do everything within our reach to get this ceasefire and hostage release agreement over the finish line now.
The current war in the Gaza Strip started on October 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing nearly 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s forces have destroyed swathes of the Palestinian enclave, dislocating about all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly disease and hunger and killing nearly 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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