US tells 'Israel' time to reach agreement to prevent regional war: CNN
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his visit to the Middle East, and will not travel to the region tonight as planned, due to “uncertainty about the situation."
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Palestinians mourn for relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Saturday, August 10, 2024. (AP)
An Israeli source confirmed to CNN that American officials have informed their Israeli counterparts the time has come to reach an agreement to prevent the outbreak of a regional war, stressing that "no one knows" what Benjamin Netanyahu wants.
The report explained how Netanyahu has repeatedly thwarted attempts for a ceasefire in Gaza, despite the increased pressure to return the Israeli captives currently in Gaza.
Israeli Channel 12 news quoted a member of the Israeli negotiating team confirming that it was futile to travel to the upcoming talks on Thursday "if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not expand the mandate of the negotiating team.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his visit to the Middle East, and will not travel to the region tonight as planned, due to “uncertainty about the situation,” two sources told Axios.
Axios had earlier reported that Blinken was set to arrive in the Middle East today and plans to visit Qatar, Egypt, and "Israel".
For Gaza ceasefire, Hamas says implementation needed not more talks
A source within Hamas confirmed to Reuters that the Resistance movement is holding on to its demand, calling for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement the movement approved on July 2 and compelling "Israel" to comply with it instead of engaging in new rounds of negotiations.
The Hamas senior also denied allegations published by CNN, claiming that the movement's representatives were scheduled to attend negotiations on Thursday, and confirmed that all claims were "incorrect".
The source also stressed that "What we [Hamas] need is implementation, not more talks," consistent with a previous statement issued by the movement.
In the same context, Bloomberg cited an Israeli official as saying that negotiations will be held in Doha, specifically focusing on whether "Hamas would reduce its demands for the ceasefire".
Arab mediators will hold talks with Hamas after [Thursday's] negotiations, if the movement decides to boycott them, according to another Israeli official. This comes as "Israel" refuses to yield its primary demands and conditions.
This comes after US President Joe Biden, Qatar's Emir Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi released a couple of days ago a joint statement calling on "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance group to finalize the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in a meeting set for next week.
In response to the trilateral statement, Hamas affirmed on Saturday that since the onset of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, it has been committed to supporting the mediation efforts led by Egypt and Qatar to secure a ceasefire and end the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and has consistently backed any initiative that aims to halt the aggression.
West's support for 'Israel' threatens regional, intl. security: Iran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized the international community for their silence on "Israel's" ongoing war crimes in the Middle East while condemning the West's support of the occupation regime, describing it as a threat to regional and international security.
Pezeshkian said these comments during a phone call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday evening while engaging in discussion to establish peace and stability on both the regional and global scale, and exchanging ways to improve the two nations' bilateral relations.
“The silence of international bodies towards the unprecedented and inhumane crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the terrorist acts of the regime in the region, in addition to certain European countries’ support for the entity are irresponsible and in violation of international regulations,” Pezeshkian said, emphasizing these practices threaten regional security by enabling the occupation to continue committing international violations.
Pezeshkian asserted that despite the Islamic Republic of Iran's belief that war is not in anyone's interest, the punitive response to Israeli aggression is a proper and legitimate mechanism to combat the regime's atrocious crimes.
Iran's President Pezeshkian also held a phone call with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Sunday, during which he criticized the double standards employed by the United States and some Western states, which have "emboldened the Zionist regime to become even more aggressive" and threaten world peace and security.
The Iranian president saw that these policies have aided Israeli assassinations and heinous crimes in the Gaza Strip, as well as in regional countries, saying that "Israel's" actions "pose a threat to the peace and security of the region and the world."
