Blinken to arrive in Israel as U.S. pushes for Gaza ceasefire

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Blinken to arrive in ******* as U.S. pushes for Gaza ceasefire

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks onboard the plane during his visit to ******* as he departs en route to Jordan, amid the ongoing conflict between ******* and the ************ Islamist group ******, in Tel Aviv, ******* November 3, 2023. 

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in ******* on Sunday as part of Washington’s intensifying diplomatic push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that will end the 10-month-old war between ******* and ******.

The top U.S. diplomat’s tenth trip to the region since the war began in October last year comes days after the ******* States put forward bridging proposals that it and mediators Qatar and Egypt believe would close gaps between the warring parties.

U.S. officials cite fresh optimism to bring the deal over the finish line but also caution that there is still work to be done.

“What we’ve done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday.

In *******, Blinken is expected to meet with ******** Prime Minister and other senior officials.

The negotiations are taking place in the shadow of a feared regional escalation. Iran has threatened to retaliate against ******* after the ************** of ****** leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

Iranians hold portraits of late ****** leader Ismail Haniyeh during his ******** procession, in Tehran, on August 1, 2024, ahead of his burial in Qatar. Iran held ******** processions with calls for revenge after the ******** in Tehran of ****** political chief Ismail Haniyeh in a strike blamed on *******. 

– | Afp | Getty Images

Washington has repeatedly warned Iran not to go ahead with any retaliatory action against *******. The U.S. official said such an act could have “cataclysmic” consequences, particularly for Iran.

Foreign ministers of the ******* Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy in a ****** statement threw their support behind the ongoing ceasefire talks, urging all sides to avoid any “escalatory action.”

Talks on how to implement the deal are expected to continue early next week, before senior officials reconvene in Cairo, with the aim to conclude the deal later in the week in Cairo.

*******’s negotiating team on Saturday expressed “cautious optimism” on the possibility of advancing a deal, according to a statement on Saturday from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

****** spokesman ****** Taha told Al Jazeera TV on Saturday that ******* had added conditions in the ceasefire talks and accused Netanyahu of using them to hinder efforts.

Even as hopes grew for a ceasefire, war raged on. At least 17 Palestinians were ******* and dozens wounded in an ******** strike in the Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, health officials said, as ******* issued new evacuation orders, citing ****** rocket ***** nearby.

Palestinians with belongings on their way to find safe areas after ******** army issued new evacuation order for eastern Deir al Balah, central Gaza on August 16, 2024. 

Ashraf Amra | Anadolu | Getty Images

The latest round of war in the decades-old ********-************ conflict began on Oct. 7 when ****** fighters rampaged into *******, ******** around 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages according to ******** tallies.

*******’s subsequent military campaign has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and ******* more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to ************ health authorities. ******* says it has eliminated 17,000 ****** fighters.

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