DOHA (Kashmir English): The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt, in a joint statement, welcomed Hamas’s acceptance of the US president’s proposed plan.
The agreement includes a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the start of immediate negotiations.
The statement said that this development is an important step towards establishing peace in the region and ending the humanitarian crisis.
The foreign ministers also supported the US president’s efforts to persuade Israel to accept a ceasefire and facilitate the exchange of prisoners.
The statement added that Hamas’s willingness to hand over the administration of Gaza to an interim Palestinian Authority is a positive development and called on the parties to start immediate negotiations.
The joint statement urged all parties to refrain from actions that endanger the security of civilians and to pave the way for a lasting peace through the delivery of humanitarian aid, the return of the Palestinian Authority, and the establishment of a unified Palestinian government that guarantees Israeli withdrawal, the reconstruction of Gaza, and a two-state solution.
Earlier, Hamas said Saturday that the Palestinian Islamist group was ready to start talks to resolve all outstanding issues under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal.
“We are ready to begin negotiations immediately to finalise all issues,” a senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The group said Friday that it was ready to release all hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but did not address calls for its disarmament and exile from the Palestinian territory after the war’s end.
Hamas says it is prepared to release the remaining 48 hostages in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive, as part of President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan.
In another development, Gaza’s civil defence agency has said that Israel carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City despite US President Donald Trump’s appeal to end bombardments after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal, AFP reports.
“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force that operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.
