Image Credit: AFP
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday pinned blame on Hamas for rejecting a temporary Gaza truce as he reached out to mediator Egypt in a new bid for a deal.
A Hamas official told AFP on Friday that the group had received a proposal from Egypt and Qatar for a short-term truce and rejected it for not including a lasting ceasefire.
In a telephone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Blinken “noted that Hamas has once again refused to release even a limited number of hostages to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” a State Department statement said.
Blinken “emphasized the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages and increasing and sustaining the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” it said.
US President Joe Biden on May 31 laid out a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war that would include the release of hostages seized in the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on a troop presence on the Egyptian border and US officials had described Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – killed last month by Israel – as intransigent and refusing any deal.
In hopes of making progress, CIA chief Bill Burns in recent discussions with his Mossad counterpart in Qatar spoke of a short-term ceasefire for the release of some of the hostages, according to a source knowledgable of the talks.
Blinken traveled to the Middle East following Sinwar’s death and on Friday spoke by telephone with Ron Dermer, a top advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken has been focused in part on establishing a post-war plan for Gaza that would allow Israel to declare an end to the war, even without a negotiated settlement.
The top US diplomat has also been looking for a deal in Lebanon to end Israel’s offensive that would force Hezbollah out of border areas.
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