“It is time for the war to end,” the statement, shared with CNN, bluntly says. We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens,” the statement says. Those 17 countries have citizens whom Hamas took captive at the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Immediately after Biden detailed the Israeli proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that his country would not end the war until Hamas was defeated. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, convened for the first time last month an in-person meeting of ambassadors and chiefs of mission representing countries whose citizens were taken hostage by Hamas, CNN reported, at a moment when a deal was stalled.

Source: Egypt Independent June 06, 2024 19:29 UTC