TEL AVIV – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday described Washington’s latest diplomatic effort to reach a ceasefire in Gaza as “perhaps the best and perhaps the last chance,” and urged all parties to make it happen.
Months-long marathon talks to reach a ceasefire are due to resume this week in Cairo after a two-day meeting in Doha last week.
Blinken will ramp up US diplomatic pressure to ensure negotiators achieve a breakthrough later this week, after the United States last week put forward proposals that mediating countries believe will bridge the gaps between the two sides.
“This is a critical moment, and it may be the best and perhaps the last chance to return the hostages, to reach a ceasefire and to pave the way for everyone to achieve lasting peace and security,” Blinken told reporters before meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“I am here as part of an intensive diplomatic effort at the direction of President Biden to try to reach a final agreement and implement it,” Blinken added. “It is time for everyone to come to the point of agreement and not look for any excuses to reject it.”
The efforts of the mediating countries, Qatar, the United States and Egypt, have so far failed to narrow the differences enough to reach an agreement through intermittent negotiations over months. The war continues unabated in the Gaza Strip.
Hours after Blinken arrived in Israel, the Palestinian factions movement said, “We hold (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators’ efforts, obstructing reaching an agreement, and fully responsible for the lives of his prisoners who are exposed to the same danger that our people are exposed to, as a result of his continued aggression and systematic targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip.”
Efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement have gained more importance and urgency amid fears of escalation in the Middle East. Iran has vowed revenge on Israel after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’s political bureau, in Tehran on July 31.
Blinken reiterated his country’s warning against further escalation. He added, “It is time to ensure that no party takes steps that might derail this process, and we are trying to ensure that escalation and provocations are prevented.”
The war broke out on October 7 when Palestinian militants launched an attack on southern Israel. According to Israeli statistics, the attack killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
Palestinian health authorities say the ongoing Israeli military campaign on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and reduced much of the territory to rubble.
Reuters
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2024-08-20 02:43:30
