by Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit the Middle East next week, the U.S. State Department said on Friday, as Washington tries to put pressure on Israel and Hamas so that they accept the ceasefire proposal presented last week by Joe Biden.
During this trip, his eighth in the region since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, the top American diplomat will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Qatar.
“The Secretary of State will discuss how the proposed ceasefire would benefit both Israelis and Palestinians,” the State Department said in a statement.
“He will insist that this ceasefire would alleviate the suffering in Gaza, allow a massive increase in humanitarian aid and allow Palestinians to return home,” he added.
Talks brokered by Egypt, Qatar and other parties to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have stalled and US President Joe Biden last week presented a new “comprehensive” offer ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
This ceasefire, the State Department said, would also open the possibility of establishing calm along Israel’s northern border and create the conditions for further integration between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Wednesday that Israel was ready for strong action in the north, threatened in December to transform Beirut “into Gaza” if Hezbollah started a war. (Report by Humeyra Pamuk, French version by Kate Entringer)
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