news

[Global Times reporter Jiang Ailing] The Times of Israel reported on the 16th local time that US President Biden warned Israel and other parties not to take actions that could "undermine" the Gaza ceasefire negotiations and affect the conclusion of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

According to a statement released on the White House website on the 16th, Biden said that earlier today, he had received the latest report from the negotiating team in Doha and instructed them to submit a comprehensive transition proposal within the same day to lay the foundation for a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

Biden profile picture source: foreign media

The statement added, "I will be sending Secretary Blinken to Israel to reiterate my unwavering support for Israel's security and continue our tireless efforts to reach this agreement. With a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza imminent, no party in the region should take actions to undermine this process."

According to AFP, Blinken will leave for Israel on the 17th local time. The report mentioned that Biden was dissatisfied with the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), in Tehran. The attack was suspected to be carried out by Israel. On the other hand, due to concerns about the outbreak of a full-scale war in the Middle East, the United States has been warning Iran not to retaliate against Israel.

According to CCTV News, on August 16 local time, Qatar, the United States and Egypt issued a joint statement stating that senior officials from Qatar, the United States and Egypt, as mediators, held intensive negotiations in Doha over the past 48 hours on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of detained persons.

Earlier in the day, the United States, with the support of Qatar and Egypt, put forward a transitional proposal. The statement said that the working group will continue to work on the implementation of details in the coming days, including arrangements for the implementation of the broad humanitarian provisions of the agreement, as well as specific details related to the detained persons. The statement said that senior officials from the three governments will meet again in Cairo before the end of next week, hoping to reach an agreement in accordance with the proposal on the 16th.

A Hamas source told Xinhua on the 16th that the results of the new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations held in Doha were inconsistent with the plan based on the proposal made by US President Biden that Hamas received in July. Any agreement that does not include a comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, allowing displaced persons to return home, rebuilding the Gaza Strip and exchanging detained persons is useless and "will only give Israel more time to commit crimes against the Palestinian people."