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Blinken calls on Hamas to accept US ceasefire proposal

2024-08-19 21:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA
Blinken calls on Hamas to accept US ceasefire proposal
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called on Hamas to accept a US proposal for a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip and for the release of hostages, following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hamas has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Earlier on Monday, Blinken said that the latest attempt at a deal is probably the best and last chance, so he called on both sides to accept the proposal.

Talks in Qatar last week ended without any progress, but they are expected to resume this week based on a proposal by the United States for a rapprochement between Israel and Hamas. "During a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, he confirmed that Israel accepts the proposal for the alignment of positions and supports it," Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.

He added that now "it is up to Hamas to do the same".

"Then, the parties, with the help of mediators - the United States, Egypt and Qatar - should come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings on how they will implement the obligations they have taken on in this agreement," he said.

Despite the expression of optimism from the US and the description of the meeting as positive by Netanyahu's office, Israel and Hamas have hinted that it will be difficult to reach the agreement. The talks, several months long and interrupted from time to time, have been held around the same issues. Israel says the war can only end after Hamas is destroyed as a political and military force, while Hamas says it will only accept permanent, not temporary, ceasefires.

The war in Gaza began on October 7 last year, when Hamas militants swept into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others, according to Israeli officials.

As a result of the Israeli war, parts of the Gaza Strip have been razed to the ground and at least 40,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities in the enclave./ Rel





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