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Middle East conflict

Trump invites India to join Board of Peace for Gaza — agency

No official statement has been issued by New Delhi on this matter

NEW DELHI, January 18. /TASS/. India has been invited by US President Donald Trump to join the Board of Peace that will administer the Gaza Strip, the ANI news agency reported.

"US President Donald Trump has invited India to be a part of the Gaza Board of Peace," the agency said, citing sources.

No official statement has been issued by New Delhi on this matter.

The White House said earlier that the Trump-chaired Board of Peace will include US special envoy Steve Witkoff, US entrepreneur and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister (1997-2007) Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management owner Mark Rowan, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and Trump's deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking more than 250 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas' military and political structures and free all hostages.

Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Under the agreement, Israeli troops withdrew to the so-called Yellow Line but retained control over more than 50% of the enclave’s territory.

The second phase of the deal envisages the withdrawal of Israeli troops, deployment of an international stabilization force, as well the launch of enclave governance structures, including the so-called Board of Peace.

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United States India Gaza Strip Donald Trump

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