The Secretary of State of the United States, Anthony Blinkenassured this Friday that the terrorist group Hamas It is “the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire” with Israel.
“We wait to see if, in fact, they can accept a yes in response to the ceasefire and the release of hostages“Blinken expressed during the McCain Institute Sedona Forum in Arizona.
“The reality right now is that the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”he added.
“The Hamas leaders that we are indirectly in contact with – through Qataris and Egyptians – are living, of course, outside of Gaza,” Blinken said.
“Those who ultimately make the decisions are those who are actually in Gaza and with whom none of us have direct contact.”
Blinken gave a speech at the Sedona Forum from the McCain Institute in Arizona, two days after meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuand other leaders on their most recent visit to Middle East.
Before talks with Blinken, Netanyahu promised to press ahead with his offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah to eradicate Hamas, regardless of the outcome of negotiations for a temporary ceasefire that would include the release of hostages.
The administration of the American president Joe Biden has repeatedly warned the Netanyahu government not to advance towards Rafah, where around 1.5 million Palestinians who fled the Israeli response to the Hamas attack on October 7.
Blinken added that Israel, which has the military and diplomatic support of the United States, must present “a credible plan to genuinely protect civilians who are in danger” in Rafah.
“Without such a plan, we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah because the damage it would cause would be beyond what is acceptable,” he warned.
A Hamas delegation is due to travel this Saturday to Cairo to “continue talks” and “reach an agreement” for a truce in the Gaza Strip with Israel.
“Hamas delegation to travel to Cairo to continue talks“, stated the Islamist movement in a statement, highlighting “the positive spirit” of its leaders in the face of the negotiation.
For almost a week, the mediators of these indirect negotiations (Qatar, Egypt and the United States) have been waiting for Hamas’s response to the latest truce proposal submitted at the end of April.
This offer includes a cessation of fighting for 40 days and a Israeli hostage exchanges held in Gaza since October 7 by Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
But the Islamist group, which has ruled the Strip since 2007, is still “determined” to obtain “a complete cessation of aggression”, “the withdrawal” of Israeli forces from the enclave and “a serious agreement for the exchange” of hostages for prisoners.
Last Monday, the terrorist movement’s negotiators left Cairo for Qatar to study the proposal, promising to return to transmit their response.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that an offensive in Rafah could lead to “a bloodbath” in this city.
“We will do whatever it takes to win and defeat our enemy, also in Rafah,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated this week.
Hosam Badran, a senior Hamas political official, assured that these statements by Netanyahu seek to “frustrate efforts” for a peace agreement.
In the early hours of this Saturday, hospital sources in Gaza reported Israeli bombings in Rafah, but also in the neighboring city of Khan Younis, devastated by an Israeli ground incursion
(With information from AFP)
