Blinken slams Hamas, says US still pushing for Gaza truce deal
Al Jazeera
Qatari PM Sheikh Mohammed says ceasefire negotiations are ongoing with room for ‘give and take’ to reach an agreement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that some of the amendments proposed by Hamas to the United States’ proposal for a truce in Gaza are not “workable”, but efforts to reach an agreement are continuing.
Speaking from Doha alongside Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on Wednesday, Blinken said Israel’s war on Gaza will continue “as a result” of Hamas’s response.
“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table. We discussed those changes last night with Egyptian colleagues, and today with the prime minister,” Blinken said. “Some of the changes are workable. Some are not.”
Washington had presented the plan late last month, saying that it would lead to an “enduring” ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas submitted its response jointly with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Tuesday, describing it as “responsible” and “positive”.
