US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday to meet with the country’s top government, with whom he will discuss the war in the Gaza Strip and a possible cease-fire agreement.
“Blinken will discuss negotiations on the release of Israeli prisoners, Israel’s war in Gaza, the worsening humanitarian crisis and post-war plans,” according to the Haaretz newspaper.
An earlier statement from the US State Department stated that Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and President Isaac Herzog.
Blinken has so far visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar as part of his current tour of the region, and is also scheduled to visit Ramallah to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
It is his sixth visit to Israel since October 7, and his fifth to the region, with the aim of finding a solution to Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a day earlier that he would discuss Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal with Israel on Wednesday in Tel Aviv.
“Hamas responded to the framework ceasefire agreement. We are reviewing that response. Tomorrow I will discuss this with the government of Israel,” Blinken said at a news conference with his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, in Doha.
Blinken said he would work “relentlessly” during talks on an agreement with Israel to renew and extend the ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli prisoners.
He affirmed that reaching an agreement on the hostages was the best way forward to advance the extended cease-fire in Gaza.
A humanitarian pause in November resulted in a seven-day cessation of hostilities in fighting in exchange for the release of more than 100 Hamas prisoners and about 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.
Israel launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7, killing at least 27,585 Palestinians and wounding 66,978, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli offensive has left 85 percent of Gaza’s population internally displaced due to acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to UN figures.
Photo ©️ Kompas.id
