3 nations invite Israel, Hamas to resume Gaza ceasefire talks

Qatar, Egypt and the United States have called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the three countries urged Israel and Hamas “to resume urgent discussion” on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay”.

“It is the time to conclude a ceasefire agreement and release hostages and prisoners,” they said.

“We have worked for months to reach framework agreement and it is now on the table, with only details of implementation missing.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quickly responded to the call, saying in a statement that Israel would send a delegation to attend talks next week “in order to finalise the details and implement the framework agreement”.

Hamas, the Palestinian political faction that governs Gaza, has yet to respond.

The joint statement comes amid months of failed attempts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel’s military assault has killed at least 39,699 Palestinians and injured 91,722 others since early October.