UPDATE – US secretary of state meets Israeli premier amid ongoing Gaza cease-fire talks

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a three-hour meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of ongoing efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.

A statement by Netanyahu’s office said the meeting was “positive” and that there was a “good atmosphere.”

The US Embassy in Israel released a photo of Blinken and Netanyahu meeting in the Israeli prime minister’s office in West Jerusalem.

“The Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the updated American proposal for the release of our hostages – which takes into account Israel’s security needs, which he strongly insists upon,” Netanyahu’s office said.

There was no immediate comment yet from the US Department of State on Blinken’s talks with Netanyahu.

The top US diplomat arrived in Israel Sunday evening on his ninth regional visit to advance efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

Blinken is also scheduled to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant before concluding his visit to Tel Aviv with a press conference.

Earlier Monday, Blinken warned that the ongoing Gaza cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas may be the last opportunity to end the war.

“This is a decisive moment—probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinked said during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to The Times of Israel daily.

Blinken is also expected to visit Egypt on Tuesday.

Gaza cease-fire talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, concluded on Friday by presenting "a proposal that narrows the gaps" between Israel and Hamas that is consistent with the principles set out by US President Joe Biden on May 31.

Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

But Hamas said on Sunday that Netanyahu set new conditions in the Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap proposal that was floated during the Doha talks.

“The new proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction (which separates the north and south of the Gaza Strip), the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor (in the south),” Hamas said in a statement.

“He also set new conditions in the hostage swap file and retracted from other terms, which obstructs the completion of the deal,” it added.

The resistance group called on the mediators “to fulfill their responsibilities and compel the occupation (Israeli) to implement what has been agreed upon.”

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed over 40,130 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 92,740, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio