UAE, Qatar call for intensifying efforts to reach Gaza cease-fire

ISTANBUL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar called Sunday for intensifying efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip.

The call was made during a meeting in Abu Dhabi between UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The two leaders underlined the importance of stepping up efforts “to achieve an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and provide full protection for civilians,” the Emirati state news agency WAM reported.

They also affirmed support for “all concerted initiatives and efforts aimed at de-escalating the situation in Gaza.”

On Friday, US President Joe Biden said Israel presented a 3-phase deal that would end hostilities in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

Biden called on the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to accept the proposal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition to reject the plan.

Netanyahu's office reiterated Friday his intention to continue his deadly offensive in Gaza until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved.

Hamas, for its part, said it will "respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced, and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal."

More than 36,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7 following a Hamas attack. The majority of those killed have been women and children, with over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi