Published March 20, 2024
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the “gaps are narrowing” in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over another cease-fire and hostage release that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent several weeks trying to broker.
Blinken´s sixth visit to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war began in Saudi Arabia and will take him to Egypt on Thursday and Israel on Friday. In an interview Wednesday with the Al-Hadath network in Saudi Arabia, Blinken said the mediators worked with Israel to put a “strong proposal” on the table. He said Hamas rejected it, but came back with other demands that the mediators are working on.
“The gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said.
At least 31,819 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn´t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. A United Nations food agency warned that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza.
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SOURCE: www.dailymail.co.uk
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“The “gaps are narrowing,” according to the top U.S. diplomat, who is visiting Israel on Friday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on March 20, 2024. Credit: Chuck Kennedy/U.S. Department of State.
Published March 21, 2024
A potential ceasefire deal between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group is “getting closer,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday during a trip to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible. We worked very hard with Qatar, with Egypt and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. We did that; Hamas wouldn’t accept it. They came back with other requests, other demands,” Blinken told Christiane Baissary of the Saudi-based Al Hadath newspaper, according to a State Department transcript of the interview.
“The negotiators are working on that right now. But I believe it’s very much doable, and it’s very much necessary,” he added.
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea departed for Doha on Monday afternoon for another round of talks, although Jerusalem remains pessimistic that a deal can be reached.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the latest Hamas demands “absurd,” yet still agreed to send negotiators to Qatar.
