US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks on the plane during his visit to Israel as he departs for Jordan, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 3, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to arrive in Israel on Sunday as part of Washington’s intensifying diplomatic push for a Gaza ceasefire that would end the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas.
The top US diplomat’s tenth trip to the region since the war began in October last year comes days after the United States put forward bridging proposals that Qatar and Egypt believe will close the gap between the warring parties.
U.S. officials report renewed optimism that the deal will be completed, but also warn that there is still work to be done.
“What we’ve done is take the gaps that remain and bridge them in a way that we think is basically a deal that’s now ready to close, implement and move forward,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday.
In Israel, Blinken is expected to meet with the Israeli prime minister and other senior officials.
The negotiations are taking place under the shadow of a feared regional escalation. Iran has threatened retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Iranians hold portraits of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during his funeral procession, in Tehran, on August 1, 2024, before his burial in Qatar. Iran held funeral processions with calls for revenge after the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in an attack blamed on Israel.
– | Afp | Getty Images
Washington has repeatedly warned Iran not to retaliate against Israel. The US official said such an act could have “catastrophic” consequences, particularly for Iran.
The foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany and Italy in a joint statement threw their support behind ongoing ceasefire talks, calling on all sides to avoid any “escalating action”.
Talks on how to implement the deal are expected to resume early next week, before senior officials return to Cairo, with the aim of finalizing the deal later in the week in Cairo.
Israel’s negotiating team on Saturday expressed “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of advancing a deal, according to a statement on Saturday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha told Al Jazeera TV on Saturday that Israel had added conditions to the ceasefire talks and accused Netanyahu of using them to block efforts.
Even as hopes for a cease-fire rose, the war raged. At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike in the Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, health officials said, as Israel issued fresh evacuation orders, citing Hamas rockets nearby.
Palestinians with belongings on their way to find safe areas after the Israeli army issued a new evacuation order for eastern Deir al-Balah, central Gaza on August 16, 2024.
Ashraf Amra | Anadolu | Getty Images
The latest round of war in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants stormed Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli estimates.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel says it has eliminated 17,000 Hamas fighters.
