United States (US) MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, to speed up a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken will make a previously unscheduled visit to discuss the continuation of negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
“Blinken comes amid ongoing talks to secure the release of all hostages and efforts to increase aid deliveries to Gaza,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
After landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (20/3), Blinken immediately discussed efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and increase aid deliveries to the Palestinian territory.
Saudi is Blinken’s first stop on his sixth Middle East tour since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.
Apart from Saudi and Israel, Blinken is also scheduled to travel to Egypt, which neighbors Gaza and whose envoy has been involved in previous mediation efforts.
Also read: Saudi Arabia urges Israel to stop bombing Gaza and give Palestine its rights
In Jeddah and Cairo, Blinken will discuss efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire agreement that guarantees the release of all remaining hostages.
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said Israel had responded negatively to the latest ceasefire proposal. Israel’s attitude emerged following the negotiating mediator submitted the proposal.
“On Tuesday (19/3) evening, our brothers, the mediators, informed us of the occupation’s position on the proposal. This is a generally negative response and does not address the demands. In fact, they revoked the consent previously given to us. mediators,” he said at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday (20/3).
Also read: 4 Arab Countries Affirm Their Position Regarding Israeli Aggression in the Gaza Strip
He said Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his government were responsible for the failure to negotiate the release of the hostages. Hamas demands rewards in the form of releasing Palestinian prisoners and stopping fighting in Gaza.
Israel’s invasion since October 7 in the Gaza Strip has killed 31,923 people and injured 74,096 others. Some 1,140 people were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli data, and 132 people remain missing.
This number of victims does not negate Netanyahu’s intention to burn Rafah to the ground. Netanyahu said preparations were underway for an invasion of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip but such action would take a long time.
In his statement, Netanyahu said he would immediately approve a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians from the fighting area. That was following he received the green light for the military operational plan in Rafah. (France24/Z-3)
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