USA pushes for a ceasefire
Blinken: The only obstacle is Hamas
May 4, 2024, 6:28 p.m
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While it is still unclear whether Israel will send a team to the negotiations in Cairo, US Secretary of State Blinken has clear words: In his opinion, Hamas alone is currently preventing a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas as the only obstacle to a ceasefire in the Gaza war with Israel. “We’re waiting to see whether they can actually accept a yes answer to the ceasefire and the release of the hostages,” Blinken said. “The reality right now is that the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”
Talks about a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli hostages are scheduled to continue this Saturday in the Egyptian capital Cairo. Before the departure of its delegation, Hamas said it had examined the recently received proposal for an agreement in a “positive spirit” and now wanted to “reach an agreement” in Cairo.
Meanwhile, it is currently unclear whether Israel will even send a team to the negotiations. Israel will only send a delegation to Egypt once Hamas has responded to the proposal for an agreement, the Israeli Kan broadcaster reported on Saturday, citing a government representative. An Israeli government spokesman declined to comment on the report when asked.
Before the new negotiations, Blinken said that Hamas claimed to “represent the Palestinian people.” “If that is true, then accepting a ceasefire should be an ease,” the US Secretary of State added. Blinken also noted the difficulties in negotiations with Hamas, which the United States classifies as a terrorist organization. The leaders of Hamas, with whom the US negotiated indirectly over Qatar and Egypt, “of course live outside Gaza.” But the actual decision-makers are people who are in the Gaza Strip and with whom “none of us has direct contact.”
The US Secretary of State also commented on Israel’s planned offensive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel has not yet presented a credible plan to protect civilians. Without such a plan, the U.S. could not support a major offensive because the damage it would cause would go beyond what is acceptable, Blinken said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that the Israeli army would implement its plans for a ground offensive in Rafah, regardless of international criticism and regardless of a possible ceasefire agreement. In the city on the border with Egypt, more than a million people have sought refuge from the fighting between Israel and Hamas.