Tel Aviv, Aug 19: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the time is now to conclude a Gaza cease-fire agreement that would return hostages held by Hamas and bring relief to Palestinian suffering after 10 months of devastating fighting in Gaza.
Blinken’s ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the conflict began came days after mediators, including the US, expressed renewed optimism a deal was near. But Hamas has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the latest proposal and Israel has said there were areas it was unwilling to compromise.
The trip, days ahead of new talks expected this week in Egypt, comes amid fears the conflict could widen into a deeper regional war following the killings of top militant commanders in Lebanon that Iran blamed on Israel.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said as he opened talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
“It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” he said in a veiled reference to Iran.
“And so we’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way move us away from getting this deal over the line, or for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity,” he added.
Herzog thanked Blinken for the Biden administration’s support for Israel and lamented a spate of recent attacks against Israelis in the past 24 hours.
“This is the way we are living these days. We are surrounded by terrorism from all four corners of the earth and we are fighting back as a resilient and strong nation,” Herzog said.
Mediators are to meet again this week in Cairo to try to cement a cease-fire. Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday after he wraps up his Israel stop. (PTI)
