Killing of Hamas leader 'doesn't help' ceasefire talks, says Biden
The US has said it was not involved in the assassination of Hamas's political leader
US President Joe Biden has said that the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh “doesn’t help” talks over a potential ceasefire in Gaza.
Haniyeh was killed during a visit to Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Wednesday. Iran and its allies have blamed Israel, although Israel is yet to comment on his death.
Haniyeh was Hamas’s most senior official and was highly involved in ceasefire and hostage release talks from his base in Qatar.
Mr Biden said he was “very concerned” about rising tensions in the Middle East. "We have the basis for a ceasefire. He [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] should move on it and they [Hamas] should move on it now."
Israel and Hamas recently resumed tentative, indirect talks to try to reach a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, though there have been conflicting accounts of progress.
At the end of May, Mr Biden outlined what he said were the terms of an Israeli ceasefire proposal. This has become the basis for on-off indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel since then, with Qatar, Egypt and the US acting as mediators.
Earlier this week, Israel and Hamas accused each other of obstructing progress. Hamas said Israel had introduced new conditions, while Mr Netanyahu's office said Hamas had demanded 29 changes to the proposal.
FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql8ly2g10no
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