Swift agreement vital for hostage release deal: IDF
Published on: Saturday, August 10, 2024
By: AFP
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, in talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, called for a swift agreement to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, the Israeli military said on Friday.
“While working to secure Israel, minister Gallant raised the importance of swiftly achieving an agreement that will ensure the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza,” the military said in a statement, adding the two agreed on “the urgency” of the issue.
ADVERTISEMENT
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for an end to the fighting in Gaza, saying France was lending its “full support” to mediation efforts.
“The war in Gaza must stop,” Macron wrote on X. “This must be clear to everyone.”
An end of hostilities was “crucial for the people of Gaza, for the hostages, and for the stability of the region, which is at stake today”, he wrote.
Macron said the American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators had “full support from France”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.
The unprecedented October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
ADVERTISEMENT
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,699 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
After a week-long pause in November, US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have endeavoured to secure a second truce in the 10-month-old war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the three countries’ leaders invited the warring parties to resume talks on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay”.
A framework agreement was “now on the table, with only the details of implementation” left to conclude, and the mediators were “prepared to present a final bridging proposal” to resolve remaining issues, they said.
Netanyahu’s office said later Thursday Israel would send a negotiating team on August 15 “to the agreed place to conclude the details of implementing a deal”.
A prospective cessation of hostilities also involving the release of hostages held in Gaza and scaled-up aid deliveries has centred around a phased deal beginning with an initial truce.
Recent discussions have focused on a framework outlined by US President Joe Biden in late May which he said had been proposed by Israel.
“It’s not like the agreement’s going to be ready to sign on Thursday. There’s still a significant amount of work to do,” a senior Biden administration official said of the talks that come after calls between Biden and the Egyptian and Qatari leaders this week.
Israel had been “very receptive” to the idea of the talks, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity, rejecting suggestions that Netanyahu was stalling on a deal.
The announcement of the talks came after Hamas named Yahya Sinwar—the alleged mastermind of the October 7 attack—as its new leader, sparking fears the torturous negotiations have become even more difficult.
Netanyahu, speaking at a military base on Wednesday, said Israel was “prepared both defensively and offensively” and “determined” to defend itself.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
