WASHINGTON, November 27. /TASS/. The US and Israel along with mediators such as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey plan to try to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in the coming days, US President Joe Biden said.
"Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power," he wrote on his X page. The US leader added that Washington intends to end the war by removing the radical Hamas movement from power in the Palestinian enclave.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan as saying in a televised interview that Biden would begin work on achieving a ceasefire as early as Wednesday. "President Biden intends to begin that work [on a Gaza settlement] today by having his envoys engage with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region," he said.
Earlier, Israel's security cabinet officially approved the ceasefire plan in Lebanon. Shortly thereafter, US President Joe Biden announced that the agreements between Israel and Lebanon’s Shia group Hezbollah provide for Lebanese forces regaining control of their territory within 60 days. After that, the Israeli army would gradually withdraw from Lebanese territory, and civilians on both sides would soon be able to return safely to their settlements and begin rebuilding.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, launching air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria before starting a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave.