Biden Expresses Confidence in Gaza Ceasefire Accord; Blinken Journeys to the Middle East
In the two-day chats in Doha, Qatar's capital, concluding on Friday, the USA proposed a fresh compromise to Israel and Hamas. As stated by the intermediaries USA, Egypt, and Qatar in a shared announcement, this proposition is claimed to "fill in the remaining gaps". The intent was to strike a deal and the processes are said to be progressing well, with talks supposed to carry on "before the week's end" in Cairo, Egypt's capital.
Based on his department, Secretary of State Blinken is to visit Israel on Saturday, per his ministry. Biden mentioned that Blinken will "reiterate my unwavering support for Israel's security" and "persist in our intense efforts to finalize this agreement". Biden further elucidated that Blinken's visit serves to "emphasize that no one in the region should act to impede this process, now that an agreement seems imminent".
Hamas, absent from the Doha talks, dismissed Biden's sentiments. "Declaring an agreement is mere delusion," said Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Suhri to AFP. "We aren't engaging in any agreement or actual negotiations, but rather enduring the American mandate."
Egypt's President Fattah al-Sisi advocated for the ongoing negotiations to be utilized "to reach an agreement that halts the violence". According to his office's statement, he cautioned during a visit by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on Saturday of a "perilous cycle of instability" for the Middle East.
The recent conflict in the region has amplified substantially. Iran and the Shia militia Hezbollah, backed by Iran, have been threatening Israel since the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beirut at the end of July. Hamas and Iran accuse Israel of both attacks.
In response to the imminent intensification, the USA, Israel's primary ally, has beefed up its military presence in the region. Biden had hoped that a truce agreement in the Gaza Strip could deter Iran from attacking Israel and consequently halt further escalation in the region.
The Gaza Strip conflict ignited due to Hamas' extensive assault on Israel on October 7. According to Israeli reports, 1,198 people lost their lives and 251 were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has carried out extensive military operations in the Gaza Strip. As per the health ministry controlled by Hamas, over 40,000 people have supposedly perished thus far, although this data cannot be independently confirmed.
Meanwhile, clashes persisted both in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-Lebanese border region. In the city of Gaza, Hamas' civil defense authority blamed Israel for an incident that claimed the lives of 15 members of a family. The Israeli army remained silent on this matter initially.
In southern Lebanon, ten people were killed in the Nabatijeh border region during an Israeli nighttime air strike, including a woman and her two children, as per official reports. The Israeli army claimed that it "struck a Hezbollah weapon storage" in the Nabatijeh region during the night.
The United States, being involved in the negotiations, aims to solidify the proposed compromise with both Israel and Hamas in Cairo. Following Secretary of State Blinken's visit to Israel, he is expected to reaffirm the United States' unwavering support for Israel's security.
