28-03-2024 06:53 PM Jerusalem Timing

Diplomats in Paris Call for Extension to 12-Hour Gaza Truce

Diplomats in Paris Call for Extension to 12-Hour Gaza Truce

US Secretary of State John Kerry and top diplomats from Europe and the Middle East gathered in Paris Saturday called for an extension to a temporary ceasefire currently in force

Zionist Aggression on GazaUS Secretary of State John Kerry and top diplomats from Europe and the Middle East gathered in Paris Saturday called for an extension to a temporary ceasefire currently in force between the Zionist entity and the Palestinian resistance.

Both sides have agreed to a 12-hour "humanitarian" truce in Gaza that started on Saturday morning, putting a brief stop to a Zionist aggression that has claimed nearly 1,000 Palestinian martyrs.

"We all call on parties to extend the humanitarian ceasefire currently in force, by 24 hours that could be renewed," France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters after the meeting, which lasted more than two hours.

"We all want to obtain a lasting ceasefire as quickly as possible that addresses both 'Israeli requirements in terms of security' and Palestinian requirements in terms of socio-economic development."

Kerry and Fabius met with their counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy, Qatar and Turkey, as well as a representative from the European Union.

"It's now about reaching a common position that we must put an end to the deaths," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had said before the talks began.

Kerry, who has been leading international efforts to reach a truce, has been in regular contact with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Qatar as both countries wield influence on Hamas.