A senior US administration official said it was time to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza Strip And the release of the detainees, stressing at the same time that Iran will face serious consequences if it attacks Israel.
In an unscripted briefing, the US official said that preparatory talks for the upcoming negotiations are likely to begin soon, noting that temporary arrangements and proposals have been reached and the issue of implementing the agreement on Gaza remains.
The official indicated that the sequence of the exchange is on the table, adding that signing an agreement by next Thursday is not expected.
The official stressed that what is being talked about are negotiations and that they need some things from the Israelis and from the movement. agitationHe explained that the two parties have positions on about 4 or 5 issues, and that their firm positions may be irreconcilable.
He added that the desire and intention of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thaniand the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisiand the American President Joe Biden It is to put the negotiations back on track.
The leaders of the three countries had called – in a joint statement – for the resumption of ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip and prisoner exchange on August 15 in Doha or Cairo.
Shortly after the joint statement was issued, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said: Benjamin Netanyahu Israel will send negotiators to participate in the meeting at the agreed upon location to determine the terms and framework of the agreement.
Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying that Israel had prior knowledge of the joint statement, and that the idea of the meeting was raised by Washington in recent days.
Meanwhile, the families of the Israeli prisoners called on the government and its president to complete the final missing details to implement the deal.
Iran warning
On the other hand, the senior US administration official said that the leaders’ joint statement was not related to the broader regional situation, adding that if it had an impact on Iran, that would be a good thing.
The official also said that any Iranian escalation would undermine hopes of reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
The official stressed that Iran would face “serious” consequences if it decided to attack Israel, adding that “Iran has no legitimate basis to launch this attack, and we will be prepared for any emergency.”
Regional tensions have been exacerbated following the assassination of Hamas’s political bureau chief. Ismail Haniyeh In Tehran, a day after an Israeli raid in Beirut killed a senior military commander in Hezbollah Lebanese Fouad Shukr.
