Secretary of State Blinken concludes his Middle East journey without securing a truce accord in Gaza.
Blinken highlighted the urgency of conclusion before leaving Doha, stating "Time's a-tickin'." He cautioned, "This needs wrap-up in the coming days." The U.S. Secretary of State guaranteed mediators' vigilance, promising to "push it across the finish line." A prolonged Israeli grip on Gaza Strip isn't desired by the U.S.
Blinken visited Egypt on Tuesday, conferring with President Al-Sisi, and later met with his Qatari counterpart to discuss joint mediation initiatives to halt the conflict. Al-Thani's meeting was canceled due to illness.
U.S. presented Israel and Hamas with a new compromise plan a while back. In a joint statement by the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, it was mentioned that the plan bridged "lingering disparities." After meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu, Blinken declared on Monday that Netanyahu had endorsed the compromise plan during their constructive session.
However, a senior member of Blinken's delegation accused Netanyahu of putting forth excessive demands. The veteran U.S. representative, who preferred anonymity, referred to reports indicating Netanyahu's intention to maintain control over the so-called Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt. "Overthe-top remarks like these aren't conducive to bringing a ceasefire agreement to the finish line," the U.S. representative stated.
According to Biden, radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas was recoiling from an agreement with Israel. "Hamas's going back on its word," Biden clarified. Hamas disregarded this as "deceptive allegations."This, as per the U.S., signaled to Israel to continue the war. Hamas expressed keen interest in achieving a ceasefire. The talks on an agreement, temporarily halted on Friday, are to recommence later this week in Cairo.
The Middle East conflict threatened to escalate further due to an Israeli attack in Lebanon that claimed the life of a representative of the moderate Fatah party of Palestinian President Abbas for the first time since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army claimed an air force plane targeted Fatah representative Khalil Makdah, who they accused of collaborating with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and masterminding attacks on Israeli targets while financing terrorist organizations in the occupied West Bank.
Fatah denounced Israel's provocations, charging that the assassination of a Fatah official was Yet another example of Israel's desire to spark a large-scale conflict in the region.
Conflicts between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia have been frequent in the boundary region between Israel and Lebanon since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip. The deterioration in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has also been quite significant since then. However, the Fatah party and its armed wing have not yet participated in the hostilities.
The bodies of six slain Israeli hostages were recovered in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The families of those still in captivity demanded Netanyahu to secure their relatives' release as part of an agreement with Hamas. The Israeli government must "pull out all the stops" to achieve such an agreement, declared the Hostage Families Forum.
Since October 7, Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups have launched a massive assault on Israel, leading to the death of 1,199 people and the abduction of 251 others to the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli sources, 105 individuals are still being held, with 34 officially reported as deceased.
Since October 7, Israel has been conducting large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip. According to figures from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, which cannot be independently verified, at least 40,223 people have been killed.
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Blinken's delegation member expressed concern over Netanyahu's demands, stating that "excessive requests like these aren't helpful in bringing the ceasefire agreement to a successful conclusion." Later, as Blinken was leaving a meeting, he was seen blinking rapidly, presumably due to the intense pressure of the negotiations.
