Blinken Urges Immediate Action on Gaza Ceasefire and Hostage Deal
Current US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that it is high time for both Israel and Hamas to demonstrate understanding in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage crisis in Gaza. At a press conference on Tuesday evening in Qatar, Blinken warned that there is very little time left for the parties to free the remaining 109 hostages in Gaza and put an end to the fighting.
Blinken said: ‘There is a fierce urgency to get this done over the next days, and we will do everything possible to get it over the finish line,’ after his talks in Israel, Egypt, and Qatar. These countries and the U.S. have been at the vanguard of mediation.
Most recently, the U.S. presented a ‘bridging proposal’ to narrow the differences between Israel and Hamas regarding the three-phase hostage deal proposed by President Joe Biden on May 31st of this year. While it is true that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his nod on the proposal following a three-hour meeting with Blinken in Jerusalem, Hamas, on its part, refused the proposal and offered to stick to the framework as proposed initially.
“In the next few days, we are going to try to act in every way to bring Hamas on board,” Blinken pointed out. The U.S. would like to sit down for another round of senior-level talks in Cairo or Doha by the end of the current weekend to seal the bargain.
“Our message is simple, clear, and urgent. Noting the challenges, Blinken said: It is in our opinion that we must put the ceasefire and hostage agreement across the finish line immediately. He outlined the precarious circumstances, pointing out that with each passing day, the lives or the welfare of the hostages are in even more danger.
Besides the hostage situation, by addressing the topic of a cease-fire, Blinken emphasized the Palestinians in Gaza, who also are the victims of war. He also cited the fact that the deal could avert a worsened regional conflict because the relations with Iran and Hezbollah are tense.
Blinken said: “We are trying to prevent intensification, to send necessary signals to all potential players, including Iran and Hezbollah and others, not to take steps that would lead us to escalation or expand the theater of operations. ”
US President Joe Biden endorsed earlier statements by Blinken stating that the cease-fire was still in operation – though Netanyahu was adamant that some IDF forces needed to stay in the Philadelphia Corridor – a no man’s land between the Gaza strip and Egypt. Biden also recognized that things were not straightforward and continued, “Israel says they can work it out. They’re prepared. I was told Hamas was now backing off. But it remains to be seen. We’re going to keep pushing. ”
Despite that, Hamas has dismissed suggestions that it is pulling out of the deal and blames Netanyahu for pulling stunts that complicate the agreement. Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi said more after the meeting with Blinken: The ceasefire must pave the way to the international recognition of the Palestinian state and the two-state solution, which he stressed was the “minimum warranty for stability in the context.”
