The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that a truce and hostage release deal to end the Gaza war was still possible, capping off a Middle East tour as deadly violence raged the Palestinian territories.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, a Hamas supporter, launched rockets on northern Israel, a day after an Israeli attack killed one of its senior commanders.
Blinken, who was in Doha for the final stop of a tour to push President Joe Biden’s Gaza ceasefire roadmap, stated that the US would engage with regional allies to close the deal.
Hamas submitted its answer to mediators Qatar and Egypt late Tuesday, and Blinken stated that some of the proposed amendments are workable and some are not.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, stated that the group wants a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, demands Israel refused.
The UN Security Council and Arab nations have accepted a three-stage plan, that involves a six-week ceasefire, a hostage exchange, and international support for Gaza’s rehabilitation.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated, “Many of Hamas’s demands were minor and not unanticipated, while others differ more substantively from what was outlined in the UN Security Council resolution”.
Blinken went on to say that Israel supported the plan, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government includes far-right members strongly opposed to the deal, has yet to officially endorse it.
Netanyahu’s office stated that he would have a security assessment on Wednesday in light of the developments in the north and Hamas’s negative response on the issue of the hostage release.
Blinken expressed hopes that gaps might be filled.
“We have to see… over the course of the coming days whether those gaps are bridgeable”, Blinken continued.
Early Thursday, Hamas urged Blinken in a statement to put direct pressure on Israel.
“He continues to talk about Israel’s agreement of the latest (ceasefire) proposal, but we have not heard any Israeli official speak out on this”, Hamas noted.
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