US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today from Paris that an agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which is the subject of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar, is “very close”.
“In the Middle East, we are very close to a ceasefire and an agreement on the hostages,” Blinken said during a press conference with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barot.
For the past year or so, Qatar has been participating alongside the United States and Egypt in negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire and the release of hostages still being held in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas against Israel, which and caused the war.
In Lebanon, the head of American diplomacy also foresees a “sustainable peace” at the moment that Israeli troops began to withdraw from the south of the country.
“The truce is holding” between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, nearly a month after it came into effect, Blinken hailed.
“We have recently seen the withdrawal of over a third of Israeli forces from Lebanon. I believe that the truce can be a bridge to a sustainable peace”, he said.
The United States and France belong to the five-member commission, along with Lebanon, Israel and the UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL/FINUL) which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire and watching out for any violations.
The ceasefire came into effect on November 27, after two months of open warfare between Israel and the pro-Iranian Islamist movement.
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