High-stakes negotiations is on over cease-fire in Gaza, as Antony Blinken visits Israel
The Hindu
U.S. and Arab mediators work to end Gaza war, free hostages, amid fears of wider conflict
U.S. and Arab mediators say they are closing in on a deal to halt the war in Gaza and free hostages captured by Hamas in its October 7 attack, but the talks have dragged on for months, with several moments of false hope.
The negotiations gained new urgency when Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah vowed to avenge the targeted killing of two top militants, attributed to Israel, raising fears of a far wider and more devastating war.
U.S. and Israeli officials expressed cautious optimism after two days of talks in Qatar last week, in which the mediators put forth a bridging proposal. But Hamas has been less upbeat, saying the latest proposal departs from previous iterations that it had largely accepted.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is back in the region and set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (August 19, 2024). Israel sent a delegation to Cairo on Sunday (August 18, 2024), and the mediators are expected to hold another round of high-level talks with Israel in Egypt later this week.
A cease-fire would halt the deadliest war ever fought between Israelis and Palestinians, a conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Israel's offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not say how many were militants. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are packed into squalid tent camps, the health sector has largely collapsed and entire neighborhoods have been obliterated.
The Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw militants abduct around 250 hostages. Some 110 hostages are still in Gaza, with Israeli authorities saying around a third are dead. Over 100 hostages were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
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