UNCONVENTIONAL PLAYGROUND Palestinian children are seen among destroyed buildings in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, May 31, 2024. According to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in Gaza, people in the besieged Palestinian enclave need sufficient food aid to avoid famine. Xinhua
DOHA -- Qatar, the United States and Egypt have jointly called on Hamas and Israel to finalize an agreement based on the principles of a US proposal, according to a statement from the Qatari foreign ministry on Saturday.
The three countries jointly call on both Hamas and Israel to do so "as mediators in the ongoing discussions to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees."
"These principles brought the demands of all parties together in a deal that serves multiple interests and will bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families," the statement said.
"This deal offers a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and ending the crisis," it added.
US President Joe Biden delivered a speech on Friday, in which he revealed a three-phase Israeli proposal that would lead to an end to the ongoing Gaza conflict and the release of all hostages.
An official from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza said Sunday that people in the besieged Palestinian enclave need sufficient food aid to avoid famine.
"There is no safe zone in the enclave, and the humanitarian crisis is getting more complex," Inas Hamdan, UNRWA acting public information officer in Gaza, said in a live interview in Cairo with Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News television network.
She said shelter centers in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis and central Gaza are crowded with Palestinians fleeing from Rafah, the enclave's southernmost city, amid Israeli attacks, adding that "the number of people accumulated in each center is approximately 16,000."
She noted that UNRWA teams are trying to provide health services and distribute food supplies to the shelters, which need sufficient food aid to avoid famine.
Israel has launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
At least 36,439 Palestinians have been killed and more than 82,627 others injured since then, according to the figures released by the Gaza health authorities. Xinhua