By Janet Ekstract NEW YORK-On Monday, U.N. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg is calling for a truce extension between Israel and Hamas. Speaking to the press, Stoltenberg said the four-day truce which is set to end on Tuesday morning should be extended to guarantee the release of additional hostages. He also called on Iran to control its “proxies” – those groups part of a larger network such as Syria, Hezbollah and Iran who all play a role in this conflict. As the NATO Secretary-General said: “We are seeing drone and missile attacks on U.S. positions in Syria and Iraq, as well as attacks on merchant ships. This shows that there is a risk of escalation. Iran must restrain its allies.” Stoltenberg spoke at a conference prior to the NATO heads of foreign ministers meeting to meet in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he spoke to Israeli PM Netanyahu who told him that he would welcome an extension to the truce if it meant that each day 10 hostages would be released by Hamas. Though Netanyahu did warn Biden that after the truce is over that Israeli troops would return to what Netanyahu said would be another “two months” of fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Officials on both sides are hoping the truce can be extended a bit longer and a source close to Hamas told Agence France-Presse that they would consider a “two-four day” extension should Israel agree.
Photo : AA
