UPDATE - Gaza cease-fire talks to resume soon, US Secretary of State Blinken says

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, ADDS CHANGES

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Gaza cease-fire talks are expected to resume in the coming days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference in Doha with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani, Blinken said Gaza negotiators will convene “soon.”

"We talked about options to capitalize on this moment and next steps to move the process forward, and I anticipate that our negotiators will be getting together in the coming days," he added.

The top US diplomat said Washington "reject any effort to create a siege, to starve people, to hive off northern Gaza from the rest of Gaza."

He announced an additional $135 million in US humanitarian aid to the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

“What's so critical is that the aid gets to the people who need it,” he said.

Regarding an Israeli plan that calls for the complete evacuation of northern Gaza, followed by a siege on the area to force Palestinian fighters there to surrender, Blinked said that the US “fully and fundamentally rejects it.”

The Israeli government has not officially adopted the plan, but the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said that Israel’s Security Cabinet was considering the scheme.

“This is a moment to work to end this war to make sure all the hostages are home and to build a better future for people in Gaza,” Blinken added.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar have so far failed to yield a cease-fire in Gaza, but Washington maintains that Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week may lead to a breakthrough in talks. Hamas, however, says the conflict will end when Israel stops its military campaign in the blockaded enclave, which has killed more than 42,800 people since last year.

The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.