Qatar expected to host new round of talks next week as US says mediators ‘came to an understanding’
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Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned on Sunday of a potential explosion in regional tensions if a ceasefire in Gaza is not reached before Ramadan starts in two weeks.
His comments came amid conflicting reports that international efforts to secure a truce had made progress.
“What is happening is a crime against humanity,” said Mr Safadiafter meeting Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel for talks in Amman.
“The continuation of the aggression, with Ramadan around the corner, puts the whole the area in danger of the war expanding and the regional situation exploding.”
Mr Safadi called on the international community to move to end the war, which he said had increased regional tensions.
“We ask our friends in the international community for an immediate move to end this war,” Mr Safadi said. “Four months of killing and destruction have only produced more tension.”
His warning came after weekend security talks between the US and others in Paris appeared to make progress by securing another round of discussions in Qatar.
“The representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar met in Paris and came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for temporary ceasefire would look like,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN.
While Mr Sullivan refused to put a percentage on the chances of a deal being reached, he made clear that Washington wanted Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement soon.
“The United States position in this is clear, we would like to see this deal get done,” Mr Sullivan said.
“We would like to see the hostages returned, including American hostages, and we would like to see a temporary ceasefire which will alleviate the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip, innocent civilians, women and children.
“So we are telling everyone including the Israeli government that it is our firm position that every effort be exercised to get to this agreement.”
On Sunday, Israel’s war cabinet approved the decision to send a delegation to Doha next week to discuss a ceasefire and prisoner swap.
But Hamas said the reports of progress towards an agreement were untrue.
Hamas said on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been evading the “most important demands of the resistance to stop the aggression”, as Israeli air strikes continued to pound the enclave at the weekend.
Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said he would not stop the war in Gaza until the Israeli military has achieved its stated aim of wiping out Hamas in retribution for the October 7 attacks that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel.
Israel’s air strikes and ground incursion in Gaza have killed more than 29,600 people, mostly civilians, and spilt over into a regional crisis that has seen fighting between Iran and its proxy militias against the US and Israel across the Middle East.
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