Biden calls on Egypt and Qatar to press Hamas on ceasefire, hostage deal

Issued on: 30/04/2024 – 04:02Modified: 30/04/2024 – 07:17

4 min

Summary:

6:48am: ICJ set to rule on Nicaragua’s request for Germany to halt aid to Israel

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is ruling Tuesday on a request by Nicaragua for judges to order Germany to halt military aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin’s support enables acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

Nicaragua’s case is the latest legal bid by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people to stop Israel’s offensive. Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the court. The cases come as Israel’s allies face growing calls to stop supplying it with weapons, and as some including Germany have grown more critical of the war.

At hearings early this month, Nicaragua’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos José Argüello Gómez told the 16-judge panel that “Germany is failing to honor its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law”.

Israel strongly denies that its assault on Gaza amounts to genocidal acts, saying it is acting in self defence after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people. Israeli legal adviser Tal Becker told judges at the court earlier this year in the case brought by South Africa that Israel is fighting a “war it did not start and did not want”.

4:42am: Biden presses Egypt and Qatar on ceasefire, hostage deal

US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to “exert all efforts” towards securing the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said.

Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a truce in the Palestinian territory which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7.

Representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Hamas met Monday in Cairo, with the Palestinian Islamist group expected to respond to a proposal for a second truce in Gaza, coupled with a fresh release of hostages.

In separate phone calls Biden spoke with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and discussed “the deal now on the table”, the White House said in nearly identical statements.

Biden urged the leaders “to exert all efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas as this is now the only obstacle to an immediate ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza”, the White House said.

FRANCE 24’s Fraser Jackson reports from Washington, DC

01:45

3:50am: Egypt hopeful on Gaza talks, waiting for response, foreign minister says

Egypt is hopeful about a proposal for a truce and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip but is waiting for a final response on the plan from Israel and Hamas, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Monday.

A Hamas delegation left the Egyptian capital Cairo late on Monday to consult with the group’s leadership on the latest, tweaked proposal and was expected to report back within two days, two Egyptian security sources said.

Egypt, alarmed by the prospect of an Israeli ground operation in Rafah where more than one million people have taken shelter near its border, has made a renewed push in recent days to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Along with Qatar and the US, Egypt has led efforts in recent months to broker a ceasefire deal for the conflict that would involve the freeing of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 and of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

“We are hopeful the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides, has tried to extract moderation from both sides, and we are waiting to have a final decision,” Shoukry said on a panel at a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters, AP)