The war in Gaza between Israel and the militant forces of Hamas must end as soon as possible, the leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar said in a rare joint statement on Thursday.

"It is time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families. The time has come to conclude the cease-fire and hostages and detainees release deal," reads the statement signed by President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Amir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

What You Need To Know

  • Leaders of the United States, Egypt and Qatar have called on Israel and Hamas to meet next week and hammer out a cease-fire agreement ending the ongoing war in Gaza with a rare joint statement released Thursday

  • The statement, signed by President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Amir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani asks Israel and Hamas to meet in the capital cities of either Egypt or Qatar next Thursday and close the gaps on the agreement in principal that has been approved by the United Nations Security Council

  • According to the Associated Press, Israel has agreed to send negotiators to the talks next week; Hamas has reportedly not yet responded to the offer

  • The U.S. is shoring up its defensive posture in the region, a White House official told reporters, to deter any possible attacks against Israel by Iran or Hezbollah

Together, the three leaders are calling for Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations next Thursday, Aug. 15, in either Qatar’s Doha or Cairo, Egypt, to "close all remaining gaps and commence implementation" of the agreement outlined and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.

That multi-phase deal calls for an "immediate, full and complete cease-fire with the release of hostages…the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed," a prisoner exchange, safe passage for Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighborhoods throughout Gaza and safe distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip. That would be followed by a "permanent end to hostilities," the release of all hostages still in Gaza after the initial release phase and a full withdrawl of Israeli forces from Gaza; then a multi-year reconstruction plan and the repatriation of any hostage remains still in Gaza to their families.

Throughout the week, Biden has been on calls with leaders in Jordan, Qatar and Egypt to gague the temperature of the situation and hash out mediation details between their respective allies, leading to this joint statement, a White House official told reporters on Thursday. Together, the three countries have mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas — the U.S. working with Israel, Egypt and Qatar working with Hamas — are ready to present a "final bridging proposal" to help the two warring sides strike a deal and end the conflict.

"Obviously a statement from three leaders is unusual, but it's, we think, significant," said Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. "These three leaders have been involved in this hostage negotiation, cease-fire agreement negotiation now for some months, and as the statement says, there's a framework agreement that is on the table with really the details of implementation that are left to conclude."

For the most part, the deal has been agreed to in principle, as Biden has said previously. Where the two sides still stand apart is in implementation. A senior White House official said that remaining details have to do with implementation: the sequence of events and exchanges that both Israel and Hamas need to agree upon.

But for the talks to be successful, buy-in has to come from both sides, the official said. "At the end of the day, this is a hostage negotiation. They’re holding hostages, and we’re going to need some things from the Israelis, we’re going to need some things from the Hamas side…to try to bring this to a resolution," they added.

Meanwhile, as negotiations continue, the White House and the U.S. military are keeping up a defensive posture to protect Israel in case of any strikes that might come from Iran or Hezbollah. The senior official said that the U.S. sees "absolutely no legitimate basis whatsoever" for Iran to launch an attack against Israel, and has moved in an "awful lot of military force" into the region to defend against attacks.

According to the Associated Press, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement confirming that it will send negotiators to resume talks with Hamas next week in response to the joint proposal. Hamas, the AP said, has not yet responded to the offer.

The White House expects preparatory talks for next week’s negotiations to begin in short order, McGurk said, which is precisely what the mediators of the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are hoping for.

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