US Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Israel for Gaza cease-fire talks
JERUSALEM
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel Sunday evening to advance efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
The top US diplomat is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Blinken is also expected to visit Egypt on Tuesday as part of his current tour, the newspaper said.
Cease-fire talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, concluded on Friday by presenting “a proposal that narrows the gaps” between Israel and Hamas that is consistent with the principles set out by US President Joe Biden on May 31.
Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and the reconstruction of Gaza.
For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire, and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
The Israeli onslaught has since killed nearly 40,100 victims, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,600, according to local health authorities.
More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul
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