Qatar Says Current Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Is Closer in Positions of Both Sides

Hana Abdelrahaman al-Rai, a four-year-old child suffering from malnutrition and displaced from Gaza City's eastern suburb of Shujaiya, reacts as she is carried inside a tent in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
Hana Abdelrahaman al-Rai, a four-year-old child suffering from malnutrition and displaced from Gaza City's eastern suburb of Shujaiya, reacts as she is carried inside a tent in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Qatar Says Current Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Is Closer in Positions of Both Sides

Hana Abdelrahaman al-Rai, a four-year-old child suffering from malnutrition and displaced from Gaza City's eastern suburb of Shujaiya, reacts as she is carried inside a tent in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (AFP)
Hana Abdelrahaman al-Rai, a four-year-old child suffering from malnutrition and displaced from Gaza City's eastern suburb of Shujaiya, reacts as she is carried inside a tent in Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on June 4, 2024. (AFP)

Qatar said on Tuesday it delivered an Israeli proposal to Hamas that reflected the positions stated by US President Joe Biden, adding that the paper was now much closer to the positions of both sides.

Qatar, which has been mediating on Gaza between Israel and Hamas, also stressed that there should be a clear position from both parties to reach a ceasefire deal, its foreign ministry spokesperson said in a press briefing.

"We are waiting for a clear Israeli position that represents the entire government in response to the US's Gaza proposal," Majed Al-Ansari added.

Biden on Friday laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal from Israel to Palestinian group Hamas to end the war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.

The offer calls for a ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

"The ceasefire deal should immediately end the long suffering of all people in Gaza and the hostages and their families and provide a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis", al-Ansari said.

Qatar said that it was still waiting to reach language that was agreed by both parties.

"We are now using our best efforts to finalize an agreement," al-Ansari added.



Harris Calls for Gaza Ceasefire after Hamas Leader’s Killing

 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Harris Calls for Gaza Ceasefire after Hamas Leader’s Killing

 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to the press before a campaign rally at Western International High School in Detroit, Michigan, October 19, 2024. (AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Saturday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip, presented an opportunity for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

"This creates an opening that I believe we must take full advantage of to dedicate ourselves to ending this war and bringing the hostages home," Harris told reporters.

"As it relates to the issues in the Middle East and in particular in that region, it has never been easy. But that doesn't mean we give up. It's always going to be difficult."

The Oct. 7 attack Sinwar planned on Israeli communities a year ago killed around 1,200 people, with another 253 dragged back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent war has devastated Gaza, killing more than 42,500 Palestinians, with another 10,000 uncounted dead thought to lie under the rubble, Gaza health authorities say.