United States President Joe Biden spoke over the phone with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday to discuss the situation in Gaza and efforts to agree a ceasefire, the White House stated.
According to the statement, Bien and El-Sisi underscored that an "immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks" would be established if Hamas agreed to release hostages. The White House noted that the two leaders also talked about the "alarming incident" from earlier today in which Israeli forces killed civilians encircling an aid truck and agreed this incident "underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible."
Biden also had a phone call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and agreed with him that Hamas should release hostages "without delay" in order to ensure a ceasefire.
