US is working on ‘major regional bargain’ that includes cease-fire in Gaza, says Israeli media

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - The US is currently working on a "major regional bargain" that aims at “long-term stability as part of a post-war reality” after the current Gaza conflict is over, Israeli media reported on Friday.

Quoting an unnamed Israeli source, daily Israel Hayom said of the deal: “Apart from ending the current hostilities in Gaza, it also envisions normalization between Israel and the Arab world, the release of captives, and a new regime in Gaza.”

The deal appears to be “part of what Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to when he said in Davos (World Economic Forum) this week that Israel needed to make tough decisions,” the newspaper added.

It said the deal is “still in a very preliminary stage and it is unclear how much of it has been formulated into actual text or formulas that could see the war end and a political process replace it.”

None of the parties officially commented on the report.

The news emerged after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had told the US of his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any postwar scenario – another reported rift between the countries.

The US has long favored a two-state solution for ending the bloodshed and tension in the region.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.

At least 24,620 Palestinians have since been killed in the Israeli response, mostly women and children, and 61,830 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara