U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. and Qatar are trying to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, saying mediation authorities are exploring new options after months of failing to seal off a U.S.-led plan. announced its reopening.
With less than two weeks to go until the U.S. election, Blinken has responded to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, after Israel launched an attack on Gaza last week that killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. This will be his 11th visit to the area.
Blinken on Thursday said negotiators would “within days” decide how to end the year-long war in Gaza and free dozens of prisoners captured by Palestinian militants in the Oct. 7 attack. He said he would resume talks.
“We discussed options to take advantage of this moment and next steps to move the process forward,” Blinken said after meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. ” he said.
He said the two partners were seeking a plan “so that Israel can withdraw, that Hamas cannot regroup, and that the Palestinian people can rebuild their lives and rebuild their future.”
“Now is the time to end this war, ensure the return of all hostages, and work to build a better future for the people of Gaza.”
Qatar’s prime minister said Israeli and U.S. delegations will meet in Doha to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Israel announced that Mossad Intelligence Director David Balnea will travel to Doha on Sunday to try to restart talks and meet with CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said: “The parties will discuss various options for starting negotiations for the release of Hamas prisoners in the light of recent developments.”
Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera news television reported on Thursday that an Egyptian security delegation met with a delegation of Hamas leaders in Cairo as part of efforts to restart Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, told Lebanese pro-Iranian television station al-Mayadeen that Hamas’ position had not changed.
“The hostages held by the resistance will only return if we stop the invasion and withdraw completely,” Hamdan said.
Previous ceasefire negotiations brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States failed.
US President Joe Biden on May 31 announced plans to temporarily halt fighting and seek the release of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
However, negotiations stalled, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting on the presence of Israeli troops on the Gaza-Egypt border, leading to a major stalemate.
Since last week’s killing of Shinwar, Israel has been carrying out intensive operations in besieged northern Gaza, which Palestinians and U.N. agencies fear is an attempt to blockade the north from the rest of the enclave.
Blinken, on the third stop of his tour that included Israel and Saudi Arabia, reiterated his claim that Sinwar was the main obstacle to a deal and that his death presented an opportunity.
Sheikh Mohammed said Hamas’s “future course is unclear” for now, but that Qatari intermediaries were “re-engaging” with Hamas after Sinwar’s death.
“Meetings took place with representatives of the political office in Doha. We have had several meetings with them in the last few days,” he said, adding that Egypt was in “ongoing” talks with Hamas. He added that there is.
U.S. officials had said Sinwar would not budge in negotiations brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt for a ceasefire that could also include the release of prisoners from Gaza.
Critics say the problem lies not only with Hamas but also with the Biden administration’s failure to secure support from Israel, which receives an almost constant influx of billions of dollars in U.S. weapons.
At least 42,847 people have been killed and 100,544 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.
At least 1,139 people have been killed and about 250 taken prisoner in Hamas-led attacks on Israel, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.
