Biden, Sisi to coordinate closely in ‘coming hours’ on Gaza ceasefire effort

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza on Tuesday and agreed to remain in close coordination in the coming hours, the White House said.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Negotiators were trying on Tuesday to clinch agreement on the final details of a ceasefire in Gaza after marathon talks in Qatar, with the involved parties saying a deal was closer than ever. Both Egypt and the U.S. are mediators in the talks.

Democrat Biden, whose administration has been taking part alongside an envoy of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, has said a deal was close.

KEY QUOTE

“Both leaders committed to remain in close coordination directly and through their teams over the coming hours,” the White House said in a statement after the call between Biden and Sisi.

“Both leaders emphasized the urgent need for a deal to be implemented,” the White House added.

CONTEXT

The White House said the two leaders also discussed surging humanitarian aid in Gaza where Israel’s military assault in the last 15 months has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also triggering accusations of genocide and war crimes that Israel denies.

The assault has also displaced nearly Gaza’s entire 2.3 million population and caused a hunger crisis.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies.

Ceasefire talks have previously faced hurdles.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)