US President Speaks With Leaders Of Qatar, Egypt On Gaza Truce Proposal

US President Joe Biden spoke separately by phone with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on a proposal for a truce in the Gaza Strip.

Biden discussed with Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the deal now on the table to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate and sustained cease-fire in Gaza, the White House said in a statement.

Biden confirmed that the US together with Egypt and Qatar would work to ensure the full implementation of its terms, it added.

The phone calls came after Egypt confirmed Monday that there is a new proposal for a truce in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

"There is a proposal on the table to reach a truce in Gaza," Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said during a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia.

Indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas are taking place in both Cairo and Doha aimed at reaching a deal that includes a prisoner swap, under which the Israeli captives would be released in exchange for the release of Palestinians from Israeli jails.

Tel Aviv believes that over 130 Israelis are being held in Gaza, while Israel is holding around 9,100 Palestinians in its prisons.

In his phone calls, Biden urged Qatar and Egypt to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, "as this is now the only obstacle to an immediate cease-fire and relief for the people of Gaza," the White House added.

The leaders also reviewed ongoing initiatives to increase the flow of life-saving assistance to civilians in Gaza, it said.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 77,600 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. -