ISTANBUL: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday announced its support for calls by the mediator Qatar, Egypt and US for resuming the Gaza ceasefire talks next week.
UAE’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a statement said his country “joins the call issued by” the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and the US “to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal.”
He also asked the warring parties Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group to respond to the call to resume urgent talks on 15 August 2024.
“The agreement currently on the table would end the suffering of the people of Gaza and the hostages and their families,” the UAE top diplomat said.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US on Thursday called upon Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas to resume talks in Doha or Cairo next week.
For months, Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been leading indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, but no deal has been reached because of Israel’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to end the war, withdraw troops from Gaza, and allow displaced Palestinians to return back.
According to Gaza health ministry that Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 308th day, has killed at least 39,699 Palestinians mostly women and children.
It said that over 91,722 have been injured in the war with more than 10,000 estimated to be buried under debris of bombed buildings.
Israel also stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately stop its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge.
