Qatar should take initiative to make hostage deal between Hamas and Israel - Biden

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (C) makes a speech during the opening session of the new term of the Qatari Shura Council in Doha, Qatar on October 24, 2023 [Qatari Emirate Council/Handout/Anadolu Agency]

US President Joe Biden urged Qatari Emir, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, that Doha must pressure Hamas to accept the hostage offer with Israel, the White House said.

Biden said that Israel was prepared to advance the hostage deal proposal it made last week.

During a phone conversation, Biden and Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani “confirmed that the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now on the table offers a concrete roadmap for ending the crisis in Gaza,” the White House said. “The President confirmed Israel’s readiness to move forward with the terms that have now been offered to Hamas.”

However, Israeli officials said there was disagreement between Netanyahu and the Americans over the details of the second phase of the deal.

The White House says the US President laid out a number of the proposal’s key elements in some detail, urging Hamas to accept it and the Israeli government to “stand behind it”.

READ: Saudi Arabia, US discuss Biden’s Gaza ceasefire proposal

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