Egypt, Qatar, U.S. leaders urge Israel, Hamas to resume talks, finalize ceasefire deal

CAIRO, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States on Thursday urged Israel and Hamas not to waste more time to finalize a ceasefire agreement and resume talks on Aug. 15.

The three countries invited Israel and Hamas "to resume urgent discussion on Thursday, August 15, in Doha or Cairo to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay," according to a joint statement released by the Egyptian presidency.

The statement noted that the ceasefire agreement "is now on the table with only the details of implementation left to conclude."

"There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay. It is time to release the hostages, begin the ceasefire, and implement this agreement," said the three mediators in the statement.

Cairo, Doha, and Washington mediated a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas that ended in late November 2023, which included a swap between Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages and more humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza. Yet, later mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement have not been fruitful.

Over the past 10 months, the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian Gaza Strip has killed so far 39,699 Palestinians and injured 91,722 others, according to an update released by Gaza's health authorities earlier Thursday.