DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) -Qatar said on Tuesday it had submitted an Israeli proposal to Hamas that reflected the views of U.S. President Joe Biden, adding that the newspaper was now much closer to the positions of both sides.
Qatar, which has been mediating between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, also stressed the need for a clear position from both sides to reach a ceasefire, the foreign ministry spokesman said in a news conference.
“We are waiting for a clear Israeli position representing the entire government in response to the US Gaza proposal,” Majed Al-Ansari added.
Biden on Friday presented a three-phase ceasefire proposal from Israel to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to end the war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and created a humanitarian crisis.
The offer calls for a ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
“The ceasefire must immediately end the long suffering of all people in Gaza and the hostages and their families and provide a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis,” al- said Ansari.
Qatar said it was still waiting for language agreed upon by both sides.
“We are now doing our utmost to finalize an agreement,” al-Ansari added.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Clauda Tanios, Nayera Abdallah in Dubai and Andrew Mills in Doha; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Alex Richardson)
