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Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba on Tuesday held a telephone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Gidon Saar, discussing efforts to secure the release of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali national held captive by Hamas since October 7, 2023.
Minister Deuba expressed hope for Joshi's prompt release and said, "We hope Mr. Joshi will be released soon." https://x.com/Arzuranadeuba/status/1879175881031311627 In a post on X, she said, "It was reassuring to speak with HE @gidonsaar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, over the telephone today. We discussed efforts to secure the release of Mr. Bipin Joshi, who has been held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023." "We hope Mr. Joshi will be released soon. said Nepal Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba," she added. Amid the Middle East ceasefire talks, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a ceasefire that would end the war in Gaza is "ready" to be implemented if Hamas agrees to it, AL Jazeera reported. Although Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to continue the war, Blinken said Hamas has been the party rejecting a ceasefire deal. United States President Joe Biden had announced a ceasefire proposal in May that would see the release of captives held in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory. Hamas publicly agreed to the deal, but Israel insisted that it would fight as long as necessary and hold on to parts of Gaza, including the Palestinian enclave's border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, as per AL Jazeera. "I believe we will get a ceasefire," Blinken said at the Atlantic Council. "And whether we get there in the remaining days of our administration or after January 20, I believe the deal will follow closely the terms of the agreement that President Biden put forward last May." Meanwhile, Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, has said a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to be within reach. "We understand how painful any agreement with the terrorist organisation Hamas is for Israel. Nevertheless, the lives of the hostages must now have top priority," he said in a statement. Scholz added that the deal offers the chance to ease the suffering in Gaza. According to AL Jazeera, at least 61 Palestinians have been killed and 281 others injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Israel's genocide in Gaza has killed at least 46,645 Palestinians and wounded 110,012 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive. (ANI)
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