Blinken continues diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza

2024-03-21 17:24:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met on Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo, during the mission to the Middle East to try to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

In an interview with Arab television, Mr. Blinken said the United States was pushing for an immediate ceasefire that would be tied to the release of hostages, adding that an agreement to that end would bring immediate relief to the Palestinians. who are suffering in Gaza.

"I think the gap is shrinking and I think it is very likely that an agreement will be reached," said the American diplomat.

He said that the United States has drafted a draft resolution to submit to the United Nations for this purpose.

Ceasefire talks resumed this week in Qatar, with the goal of a six-week pause in fighting that would allow the release of 40 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the main problem remains Hamas, which says it will only release the hostages as part of a deal that would end the war, while Israel wants to discuss only a temporary pause.

A US official said that significant progress had been made in Mr. Blinken's talks with Saudi Arabia on terms for a future normalization of relations with Israel, and that only a few outstanding issues remained.

The White House had been pushing for Riyadh to recognize Israel in exchange for security guarantees for Saudi Arabia from the United States since before the October 7 attack.

But now such an agreement is placed in the wider regional context, according to which Washington wants a final two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr Blinken's visit to the region comes amid tensions between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli plans for a military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

President Biden has called for the cancellation of plans for a ground attack on Rafah, the city on the southern edge of Gaza that is home to more than half of the enclave's 2.3 million residents.

Mr. Netanyahu has rejected this call.

On Thursday, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said in an interview that Israel would take control of Rafah even if it caused a rift with the United States, saying it is the last bastion of Hamas.

Mr. Dermer is part of a high-level Israeli delegation that will come to the United States in the coming days for talks at the White House on Israel's plans for the Rafah offensive, measures to protect civilians and humanitarian aid.

Some information for this article was obtained from Reuters./ Voa