GAZA: International pressure mounted on Monday for a ceasefire in Gaza, with Britain, France and Germany issuing a joint plea for an end to fighting between Israel and Palestinians with "no further delay".
The call came a day after Palestinian group Hamas urged mediators to implement a truce plan presented by US President Joe Biden instead of holding more talks.
"The fighting must end now, and all captives still detained by Hamas must be released," French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement. "The people of Gaza need urgent and unfettered delivery and distribution of aid," it said. "There can be no further delay."
International mediators have invited Israel and Hamas to resume talks towards a long-sought truce and captives-release deal, after fighting in Gaza and the killings of groups' leaders sparked fears of a wider conflict.
Israel has accepted the invitation from the United States, Qatar and Egypt for a round of talks planned for Thursday. Hamas said on Sunday it wanted the implementation of a truce plan laid out by Biden on May 31 and later endorsed by the UN Security Council, "rather than going through more negotiation rounds or new proposals".
Hamas "demands that the mediators present a plan to implement what they proposed to the movement... based on Biden's vision and the UN Security Council resolution, and compel the Israeli occupation to comply", it said.
Unveiling the plan, Biden had called it a three-phase "roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all captives", describing it was an Israeli proposal. Mediation efforts since then have failed to produce an agreement.
Hamas movement named its Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar to succeed slain political leader and truce negotiator Ismail Haniyeh, killed on July 31 in Tehran in an attack blamed on Israel.
Pressure for a ceasefire grew after civil defence rescuers in the territory said an Israeli air strike on Saturday killed 93 people at a school housing displaced Palestinians. Gaza officials said on Monday that they had identified 75 bodies of Palestinians killed in the strike.
Biden said the first phase of the proposed roadmap includes a "full and complete ceasefire" lasting six weeks, with Israeli forces withdrawing from "all populated areas of Gaza" and some captives freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The second phase would see the remaining living captives released as the warring sides negotiate "a permanent end to hostilities", followed by "a major reconstruction plan for Gaza" and the return of dead hostages' remains. — AFP
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