Anika Begay
By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Israel on Sunday, as Washington intensifies diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza that would end the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.
The 10th trip by the top US diplomat to the region since the war began in October last year comes days after the US advanced bridging proposals it, along with mediators Qatar and Egypt, says could bridge the gap between the warring parties.
U.S. officials cite renewed optimism about getting the deal done, but also caution that there is still much work to be done.
“What we’ve done is taken the gaps that are left and filled them in a way that we think is essentially a deal that is ready to be done, implemented and moved forward,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters Friday.
In Israel, Blinken is expected to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister and other senior officials.
The negotiations are taking place in the shadow of a feared regional escalation. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Washington has repeatedly warned Iran not to take any retaliatory action against Israel. The US official said such an act could have “cataclysmic” consequences, especially for Iran.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany and Italy expressed their support for the ongoing ceasefire talks, urging all parties to avoid any “escalating action”.
Talks on how to implement the deal are expected to continue early next week, before senior officials meet again in Cairo, with the aim of finalising the deal later this week, again in Cairo.
The Israeli negotiating team expressed “cautious optimism” on Saturday that an agreement could be reached, according to a statement released Saturday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha told Al Jazeera TV on Saturday that Israel had added conditions to the ceasefire talks and accused Netanyahu of using them to hinder the efforts.
Even as hopes for a ceasefire grew, the war continued to rage. At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli attack on the Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, health officials said, as Israel issued fresh evacuation orders, citing Hamas rocket fire nearby.
The latest phase of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel claims to have eliminated 17,000 Hamas fighters.
