Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday “accepted” President Biden's ceasefire plan that could end the 10-month war in Gaza, but whether the fighting actually stops depends on Hamas.
Speaking to reporters from Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the proposal put forward last week by the White House in coordination with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt sought to “bridge the gaps” between the warring parties and has been “accepted” by Netanyahu.
“He supports it,” Blinken said. “Now it's up to Hamas to do the same.”
“The parties – with the help of the mediators, the United States, Egypt and Qatar – need to come together and complete the process to reach clear understandings on how they will implement the commitments they have made in this agreement,” he added.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, August 19, 2024. (Prime Minister's Office)
Blinken did not elaborate on what the proposal included and Netanyahu has yet to formally agree to any ceasefire at this point.
Blinken said both Jerusalem and Hamas have “complex issues” that “will require difficult decisions” before the war can be considered truly over.
“But I think there's a real sense of urgency across the region about the need to get to the finish line and get to it as quickly as possible,” Blinken added. “The United States is deeply committed to getting this job done, and getting it done now.”
Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and their supporters protest near the hotel where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is staying during his visit to Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
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The news that Netanyahu had “accepted” the terms outlined in the proposal came after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting between Blinken and the Israeli prime minister, as well as months of negotiations.
The proposal is expected to include language guaranteeing the release of all hostages who have been held since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
It is unclear whether the proposal omitted Israeli control over strategic corridors inside Gaza, such as the Philadelphia Route, which runs between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and which Hamas has said is impossible to implement in any peace deal.
IDF troops operate in the Philadelphia Corridor, a buffer zone that runs along the 14-kilometer border between Gaza and Egypt. The buffer zone was created in 2006 to prevent arms smuggling after Israel withdrew from the Strip, but Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority the following year. (TPS-IL)
Although according to a Times of Israel report, an official familiar with the Netanyahu-Blinken meeting said “the Americans did not reject Israel's strategic logic.”
The official said Israel remains firm in its position that the route is a security issue as long as Hamas continues to exist.
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A Hamas terrorist takes part in a military parade. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File photo)
Blinken's visit to Israel concluded his ninth trip to the Middle East since the war began, and the secretary will head to Egypt and Qatar in the coming days.
Concerns continue to grow in the region that a larger regional war could break out amid threats from Iran and other Islamic extremist groups such as Hezbollah.
