Submit a comment
US President Joe Biden said the parties involved in Gaza ceasefire negotiations have reached some agreement in principle towards a workable deal.
The White House press pool quoted Mr Biden as expressing optimism about the possibility of completing a deal, with all sides saying "they have agreed in principle". According to President Biden, the parties are on the verge of reaching an agreement. He declared: "It is time for this conflict to end".
President Biden also said that Israeli forces had found the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
In another development, on August 31, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that a commander of a brigade belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) - the second largest armed group in Gaza after the Hamas Islamist movement - was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip. The airstrike was carried out by the IDF in coordination with the Israel Security Agency.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli army has blocked water trucks from reaching the Jenin public hospital in the West Bank. According to a VNA correspondent in Tel Aviv, Mr. Dargham Zakarneh, Director of the Jenin Civil Defense Center, said that the hospital's kidney dialysis unit needs 100 cubic meters of water per day to operate. Therefore, blocking the water trucks will cause the kidney dialysis service to be interrupted. The Israeli army is continuing to attack the city of Jenin and its refugee camp for the fourth consecutive day.
Also on August 31, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi had a phone call with Iran's new Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in which the two sides focused on discussing bilateral relations and the situation in Palestine.
Foreign Minister Safadi expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the escalation of tensions in the West Bank, stressing the need to quickly resolve these issues. For his part, Foreign Minister Araghchi stressed that Iran is ready to engage in constructive dialogue with Jordan on bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues.
