US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday (11) that Hamas’ declaration of support for a UN resolution supporting a proposed ceasefire in the Gaza war was a “sign of hope”, although the word of the militant group’s leadership in the enclave was vital.
Talks about plans for Gaza after the end of the war between Israel and Hamas will continue throughout Tuesday and in the coming days, Blinken said in Jerusalem, after talks with Israeli leaders. “It is imperative that we have these plans.”
Blinken met with Israeli officials in a joint effort to end the eight-month war, a day after President Joe Biden’s proposed ceasefire was approved by the UN Security Council.
Before Blinken’s trip, Israel and Hamas repeated hard-line positions that undermined previous mediation to end the fighting, while Israel continued attacks in central and southern Gaza, some of the bloodiest of the war.
On Tuesday, however, Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official based outside Gaza, said he accepted the ceasefire resolution and was ready to negotiate the details, adding that it was up to Washington to ensure Israel complied with it.
He said Hamas accepted the formula that stipulates the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
“The US administration faces a real test in fulfilling its commitments to force the occupation to immediately end the war, in implementation of the UN Security Council resolution,” Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
Blinken said Hamas’ statement was “a sign of hope” but a definitive word from Hamas’ leadership in Gaza was still needed. “That’s what counts and that’s what we don’t have yet.”
Israel has said it will agree only to temporary pauses in the war until Hamas is defeated, while Hamas has responded that it will not accept a deal that does not guarantee an end to the war.
Blinken, speaking to reporters, also said their talks also covered plans for Gaza’s future, including security, governance and reconstruction of the destroyed enclave.
“We have done this in consultation with many partners across the region. These conversations will continue… it is imperative that we have these plans,” he said.
Escalation of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah
In his visit, his eighth to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war broke out last October, Blinken also hoped to combat the growing violence between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, after both signaled their readiness to expand the conflict that has been dragging on in the Middle East. border.
Blinken met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the popular centrist former military chief Benny Gantz, who left the right-wing-dominated government on Sunday over what he said was his failure to outline a plan to end the war, and with opposition leader Yair Lapid.
The US State Department said Blinken discussed Biden’s truce proposal with Gantz and reiterated that it would advance Israel’s security interests, bring hostages home and increase the chances of restoring calm along Israel’s border with Israel. Lebanon.
Biden’s proposal calls for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel in stages, ultimately leading to a permanent end to the war.
The US is Israel’s closest ally and largest arms supplier, although it has become increasingly critical of the high number of civilian deaths, vast destruction and humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s war in Gaza and has increasingly pressured to put an end to it.
The war continued in Gaza on Tuesday as Israeli forces intensified attacks on the southern city of Rafah, a day after four soldiers were killed in an ambush claimed by Hamas.
Israeli Army Radio said the soldiers died in an explosion at a building in the Shaboura neighborhood of Rafah. Hamas said it ambushed troops by detonating explosives previously planted in the building.
The Israel-Gaza war began when Palestinian Islamist militants led by Hamas invaded southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli records.
Israel’s air and ground retaliation in the densely populated Gaza Strip has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, the Gaza Health Ministry said, and reduced most of the small, besieged enclave to a wasteland with widespread malnutrition.
Protesters gathered this Tuesday in front of the hotel where Blinken was staying in Tel Aviv, calling for an immediate agreement to bring the hostages home.
“We trust you, Blinken, close the deal,” they shouted as he held meetings at the hotel. “No matter what, hostage settlement now.”
Blinken is expected to travel to Jordan for a conference on the humanitarian response to Gaza later on Tuesday. The day before, he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo before heading to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Blinken emphasized to Netanyahu the importance of a postwar plan for Gaza and the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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