US Ambassador, Iraqi FM address ceasefire in Gaza

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) –United States Ambassador to Iraq Alina L. Romanowski on Sunday met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein in Baghdad, according to Romanowski’s post on X.

The US Ambassador said that she had a “productive” meeting with Mr. Hussein.

“We discussed areas of bilateral cooperation and regional developments including the pause in fighting in #Gaza. The United States and Iraq play an essential role in stabilizing the region and providing humanitarian aid,” Romanowski noted.

Productive meeting with Deputy PM/FM @Fuad_Husseein. We discussed areas of bilateral cooperation and regional developments including the pause in fighting in #Gaza. The United States and Iraq play an essential role in stabilizing the region and providing humanitarian aid.…

— Ambassador Alina L. Romanowski (@USAmbIraq) November 26, 2023

The meeting comes during a month when American military installations in Iraq had come under increasing attacks by armed groups. It is believed there have been 66 such attacks on American and Coalition installations in the region since the Gaza conflict began, according to a Pentagon report on Nov. 21. 

However, there have been no reported attacks on Americans in Iraq since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Nov. 24, the first such sign of de-escalation within the country.

In Gaza, the Hamas-linked Health Ministry recently announced the death toll has reached more than 14,000 people in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli offensive began on Oct. 7.

Hamas militants released a third group of hostages including a four-year-old American girl on Sunday with more Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange, as a source close to the group said it was willing to prolong a truce.

Read More: More captives, prisoners freed as Gaza truce extension mooted