US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that leaders in the Middle East should press Hamas to agree to the US proposal for a Gaza truce with Israel. “My message to governments throughout the region […] if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes,” he told reporters in Cairo, his first stop on a regional tour.
“I believe strongly […] that the overwhelming majority of people, whether they’re in Israel, the West Bank, in Gaza […] actually want to believe in a future where Israelis and Palestinians would live in peace and security. “
Meanwhile. White House officials have discussed possibly striking a unilateral deal with Hamas to release five American captives in Gaza if Israel does not reach a captive exchange deal with the group, reports NBC News, quoting two current US and two former US officials aware of the discussions, Al Jazeera reports.
Qatari mediators would help facilitate any such US deal, which would exclude Israel, the officials told NBC News. They provided no insight into what the US could offer Hamas in return for the captives’ release.
The White House believes the five captives are still in Gaza and the remains of three other US citizens killed on October 7 are in the enclave.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has said the group will engage positively with any proposal that brings about an end to Israel’s offensive on Gaza, while calling on the United States to push Israel towards a permanent ceasefire.
“We call upon the US administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war”, said Abu Zuhri in comments carried by Reuters.
More than 37,124 Palestinians have been killed and 84,712 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since Oct 7, Reuters quotes a Gaza health ministry statement as saying.—Agencies
