US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday as part of an intensified diplomatic effort by Washington to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, aiming to end the ongoing 10-month conflict between Israel and Hamas.
This visit marks Blinken’s tenth trip to the region since the war began in October of last year.
The renewed push for a ceasefire comes on the heels of bridging proposals put forward by the United States, along with mediators Qatar and Egypt, in an attempt to resolve the differences between the warring parties. US officials have expressed cautious optimism about the prospects for a deal but acknowledge that significant work remains to be done.
“What we’ve done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement,” a senior Biden administration official said on Friday.
During his visit, Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials to discuss the ceasefire negotiations, which are taking place amid growing fears of a broader regional escalation. Iran has threatened retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
The US has issued stern warnings to Iran against any retaliatory actions, with officials cautioning that such moves could have “cataclysmic” consequences, particularly for Iran.
The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy have jointly supported the ongoing ceasefire talks, urging all sides to avoid any “escalatory action.” Negotiations on implementing the ceasefire deal are expected to continue early next week before senior officials reconvene in Cairo, with hopes of concluding the agreement later in the week.
Israel’s negotiating team expressed “cautious optimism” on Saturday about the potential for advancing a deal, according to a statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office. However, Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha accused Israel of adding new conditions to the ceasefire talks, claiming that these were being used by Netanyahu to stall the process.
Despite the growing hopes for a ceasefire, the conflict on the ground shows no sign of abating. On Saturday, at least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the Gaza town of Zawayda, according to health officials. Israel has also issued new evacuation orders, citing nearby Hamas rocket fire as the reason.
The current round of violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict was ignited on October 7 when Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 hostages. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has devastated Gaza, with Palestinian health authorities reporting over 40,000 deaths, mostly civilians. Israel, meanwhile, claims to have eliminated 17,000 Hamas fighters.
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