[서울=뉴스핌] Correspondent Choi Won-jin = On the 12th (local time), US President Joe Biden confirmed the negotiation of a six-week ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas and emphasized the protection of civilians in response to the Israeli military air attack on Rafah, the southernmost city in The Gaza Strip.
According to Reuters, President Biden said at a joint press conference after meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House that day, “The cessation of hostilities will begin in the Gaza Strip for at least six weeks,” regarding the ongoing negotiations between Israel. and Hamas, “We will be able to use time to build something more permanent (peace),” he said.
US President Joe Biden holds a joint press conference after meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on the 12th (local time). [사진=로이터 뉴스핌]
This confirms recent media reports that Israel and Hamas are negotiating a six-week ceasefire.
The aim is for both sides to suspend fighting for six weeks on the condition that all remaining hostages, estimated at around 130, held by Hamas are released, and that Israel releases some of its Palestinian prisoners.
It is known that the Hamas leadership, which is reviewing the ceasefire plan, wants to establish conditions for a permanent ceasefire before entering into a temporary ceasefire. Israel, which seeks to completely eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, is reluctant to accept a permanent ceasefire.
President Biden also said that “a gap exists” between the two sides’ positions and that the United States encourages Israel to continue efforts to reach a negotiated conclusion.
President Biden, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the day before, announced that he had emphasized his position that “large-scale military operations in Rafah should not proceed without a credible plan to ensure the safety and support of more than 1 million people there.”
The Israeli army, which recently dismantled the Hamas establishment in Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in southern Gaza, is currently carrying out airstrikes on Rafah, the southernmost city on the Egyptian border.
With more than 28,000 Palestinians killed since the start of the war on October 7 last year, there are concerns that more civilian casualties will be inevitable if the Israeli army begins a full-scale military operation in Rafah. Rafah is where more than half of the approximately 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip have evacuated.
wonjc6@newspim.com
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