Blinken in Israel to try to seal Gaza truce deal
Al Jazeera
The US official arrives as reports suggest optimism over efforts to bring the war to a halt is fading.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel as he seeks to seal a truce deal to bring the war in Gaza to a halt.
Following meetings the previous day in Egypt and Qatar, both mediating between Hamas and Israel, Blinken landed in Jerusalem on Wednesday on his fifth tour of the tense region since October last year. He will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, among others, to discuss the Palestinian group’s response to the proposed deal.
Hamas has said previously that any deal must bring about a definitive end to the war. Israel has said it will not halt the war permanently until Hamas is destroyed.
The Palestinian group said in a statement on Tuesday that it had reviewed the “comprehensive ceasefire deal … with a positive spirit”, including details on securing relief and shelter, reconstruction, the lifting of a 17-year-old crippling siege, and the completion of the “prisoner exchange” process.
On Wednesday, an unconfirmed report from Reuters news agency said Hamas has proposed a three-stage ceasefire plan according to which the group would exchange Israeli captives it captured on October 7 for Palestinian prisoners, secure the reconstruction of Gaza, ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and an exchange of bodies and remains.
