U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani about Gaza and they agreed that efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas were key to securing a longer pause in fighting, the White House said.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani © Saudi Press Agency
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani about Gaza and they agreed that efforts to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas were key to securing a longer pause in fighting, the White House said.
"Both leaders affirmed that a hostage deal is central to establishing a prolonged humanitarian pause in the fighting and ensure additional life-saving humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in need throughout Gaza," the White House said in a statement.
Biden's Middle East adviser Brett McGurk was in Doha this week having discussions about the possibility of another hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday the U.S. would support a longer humanitarian pause in combat in Gaza to ensure hostages could be released and aid brought in.
Biden also spoke with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday.
They discussed intensifying efforts to further increase the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance into and throughout Gaza and agreed to continue their close coordination on humanitarian assistance, the White House said in a statement.
Reporting by by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington
At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday at an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in what the U.S.-backed group said was a crowd surge instigated by armed agitators.
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Wednesday to discuss negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire deal, Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on X.
There have been some good signs of more trucks and supplies getting to Gaza but the European Union needs to see more improvement on the ground, the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday, ahead of a meeting with senior Middle Eastern and EU officials in Brussels.
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