US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for the Middle East on Saturday (17.08.2024) to push for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, at a time when “cautious optimism” has grown among authorities and mediators.
The top US diplomat, who postponed his vacation plans for a ninth trip to the region since the Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, will fly to Tel Aviv ahead of meetings with Israeli leaders.
Blinken left Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland after two days of talks on a possible truce concluded in Doha, promoted by US President Joe Biden and mediated by Egypt and Qatar.
U.S. officials said progress had been made and offered a proposal to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas, a movement considered a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States and Israel.
Israel calls for pressure on Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that negotiators had expressed “cautious optimism” about the possibility of reaching a deal and called for pressure on Hamas.
Talks are due to resume next week in Cairo, but Hamas denied on Saturday that an agreement to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza was “close”.
Sami Abu Zohri, a member of the movement’s political bureau, said the negotiations were “the imposition of American dictates” and criticized a “huge step backwards.”
The Islamist group’s unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war killed 1,198 people, most of them civilians, according to a tally based on official Israeli figures.
In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, authorities say more than 40,000 people have been killed.
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