Negotiators began arriving in Cairo on Saturday for further talks on a cease-fire and the release of captives as the Gaza conflict approaches its six-month milestone.
U.S. CIA Director Bill Burns arrived on Saturday. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and an Israeli team were also slated to attend the discussions, Egypt’s Al Qahera news agency said on Saturday.
In a statement, Hamas claimed it will dispatch Khalil Al-Hayya, its deputy head in Gaza. It also restated its key demands, including a total cease-fire in Gaza and the evacuation of Israeli soldiers.
U.S. President Joe Biden wrote letters to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on the state of the hostage talks, and “he urged them to secure commitments from Hamas to agree and abide by a deal,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
Biden also told Netanyahu to empower his negotiators in Cairo so that a deal can be reached as soon as possible, allowing more humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.
Deadly, destructive war
The Israel-Hamas war is considered one of the most destructive, deadly, and relentless conflicts of the 21st century.
“Six months on, the war in Gaza is a betrayal of humanity,” said Martin Griffiths, undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the United Nations.
In a statement Saturday, Griffiths acknowledged the pain and suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis since Hamas staged its October 7 terror attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and claimed more than 240 hostages.
“For the people of Gaza, the past six months of war have brought death, devastation and now the immediate prospect of a shameful manmade famine,” Griffiths said, noting that for the people affected by the lasting horror of the Hamas attacks, “it has been six months of grief and torment.”
In his plea for a cease-fire, Griffiths said that “every second counts” as the war claims more civilian victims and “continues to sow the seeds of a future so deeply obscured by this relentless conflict.” Griffiths said any further escalation of the war in Gaza is an “unconscionable prospect.”
