The meeting will be a four-party affair: Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been leading efforts for months to negotiate a truce in the war. Cairo insists on an immediate ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Rafah.
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Egyptian, American, Qatari and Israeli delegations are expected in Rome on Sunday to negotiate a truce in the Gaza war, Al-Qahera News, a media outlet close to the Egyptian secret services, reported on Friday.
“A quadripartite meeting will be held in Rome on Sunday, bringing together Egyptian authorities, their American and Qatari counterparts, in the presence of the head of the Israeli intelligence services, to reach an agreement on a truce in Gaza,” said a “senior official” quoted by Al-Qahera News.
Cairo insists “on the need for the agreement to require a Immediate ceasefire and guarantee the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza”and” guarantee freedom of movement for the citizens of Gaza and a [israelita] Full view of the Rafah border crossing, on the border between Egypt and Palestinian territory, according to the same source.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been leading efforts for months to negotiate a truce in the war between Israel and Hamas, involving an exchange of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Recent discussions have focused on a framework presented in late May by US President Joe Biden, which he said was an Israeli proposal.
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Sunday’s meeting will take place at a time when relations between Israel and the US government are under strain, with the United States pushing for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, devastated by more than nine months of war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was welcomed at the US Congress in Washington on Thursday, before meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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The increasingly likely Democratic nominee for the US presidential election in November signalled on Thursday a possible major shift in US policy towards Gaza, vowing not to remain “silent” in the face of civilian suffering and insisting on the need to conclude a peace deal without delay.
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The current conflict in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, which left around 1,200 dead and more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
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In response, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza, which has already caused more than 39,000 deaths, mostly civilians, and nearly 90,000 injuries, as well as a humanitarian disaster, according to local authorities, controlled by Hamas.
Source: Observadora
