Gaza (Union)
US President Joe Biden said yesterday that he continues to work non-stop to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for a period of 6 weeks, in order to return the Israeli hostages in Gaza and alleviate the humanitarian crisis.
In his “State of the Union” speech, Biden called on Israel not to obstruct humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, and not to use the humanitarian aid file as a bargaining chip, stressing that protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority.
The US President pointed out that “the war in Gaza has caused greater human losses than all previous wars in Gaza combined, and that there are homes, neighborhoods and cities in Gaza that have been destroyed, families without food, water and medicine, children who have become orphans, and about two million Palestinians who are under bombardment or have become displaced.” ».
Biden affirmed his support for the two-state solution, considering it the only real solution to guarantee the security of Israel and the Palestinians.
Biden also announced that his army would establish a temporary port in Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid to the Strip.
In this context, US Intelligence Director William Burns in Cairo held extensive consultations with Egyptian officials about ways to reach a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip and a deal to exchange prisoners and hostages, according to what an official source confirmed to Al-Ittihad.
The source confirmed that the director of US intelligence arrived in the Egyptian capital yesterday evening, to conduct intensive consultations with Egyptian officials, which extended until yesterday morning, noting that Burns arrived in Doha to meet with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Thani, to discuss ways to reach a truce. Humanity in the month of Ramadan.
The source explained that the American side is pressing hard to reach a humanitarian truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza in the coming hours, stressing that the two sides’ adherence to their conditions hinders any effort to achieve the truce and reach a prisoner exchange deal.
In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken considered yesterday that it is extremely necessary to maintain and increase the land crossings to Gaza, indicating that his country is focusing at the “current moment” intensely on finding out whether it is possible to reach a ceasefire.
A new round of negotiations with the Palestinian factions is scheduled to begin within hours to pressure the success of a temporary humanitarian truce on the occasion of the month of Ramadan.
In this context, the Palestinian factions in Gaza demanded, during the Cairo meetings, an end to the Israeli war on Gaza a week before the start of the hostage exchange deal, and Israel’s acknowledgment of withdrawal from Gaza with international guarantees, in addition to the wording of the agreement being a complete ceasefire and not a humanitarian truce, and ensuring freedom of movement in sector and allowing the displaced to return to their homes.
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