ANTALYA, Turkey, March 1 (Reuters) – Egypt is hopeful that negotiations for a Qatar-brokered ceasefire in Gaza will be concluded before March 10, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
Discussions initiated in Paris on a truce between Israel and Hamas focus on a 40-day pause in fighting in the Gaza enclave and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a source close to the Hamas told Reuters on Tuesday. discussions
“I can say that we have reached a point of understanding, we will continue to make every effort with our brothers in Qatar, the United States and others close to the negotiations. We hope that we can reach a cessation of hostilities and an exchange of hostages,” said Sameh Choukri at the diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey.
“Everyone recognizes that we have a time limit to succeed before Ramadan begins,” he added.
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“We will continue to strive, together with the United Nations and our partners, to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza and to increase the level (of aid). In practice, this cannot be done without the cessation of hostilities,” said the head of Egyptian diplomacy.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, speaking at the same roundtable as his Egyptian counterpart, said Israel would not agree to a ceasefire unless there was international pressure. be exercised on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“If we are not able to achieve a ceasefire in the next two or three weeks, it is clear that we will see a new round of attacks on Rafah and a continuation of genocide,” did he declare. (Tuvan Gumrukcu report, written by Huseyin Hayatsever, French version Dimitri Rhodes, edited by Sophie Louet)
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