Blinken in Israel, warns of last chance for Gaza peace

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that this could be the “last opportunity” to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by militants.

Blinken spoke at a morning meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog before later holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire.

“This is also to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said in Tel Aviv, noting it was his ninth visit since the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have been acting as mediators in a series of indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The latest two-day round of talks in Qatar concluded on Friday without a major breakthrough, but negotiations are set to resume in Cairo this week.

“It’s time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” Blinken said.

He called for “provocations” and escalatory acts by parties to the conflict to be avoided.

There has been concern for weeks about possible large-scale attacks on Israel from Iran, the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and others.

Blinken noted that U.S. President Joe Biden had deployed more forces to the region “to deter any attacks” against Israel.

One unresolved issue in the ceasefire talks remains the fate of the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Netanyahu has insisted that the Israeli military must continue to control what Israel terms the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt.

Hamas, on the other hand, has demanded Israel’s full withdrawal from the area as a condition for peace, more than 10 months since the October 7 attacks sparked the conflict.

Broadly speaking, the plan under discussion initially provided for a complete and unrestricted ceasefire of six weeks.

During this period, a group of hostages held by Hamas would be released.

In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released.

After that, the fighting would cease permanently and the remaining hostages would be released.

In a final phase, the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would begin. (dpa/NAN)