U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Wednesday for talks with prime Israeli officers concerning the continuing offensive in opposition to Gaza and the potential for a cease-fire settlement.
According to Haaretz, Blinken’s agenda contains discussions on ongoing hostage negotiations, Israel’s army actions in Gaza, the escalating humanitarian disaster and post-war planning.
Previous communications from the U.S. Department of State indicated that Blinken is scheduled to satisfy with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and President Isaac Herzog.
Blinken has up to now visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar as a part of his present tour within the area, and can be scheduled to go to Ramallah to satisfy Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
It is his sixth go to to Israel since Oct. 7, as a part of his fifth tour within the area, aimed toward discovering an answer to the continuing Israeli battle on the Gaza Strip.
Before his arrival in Israel, the Hamas group mentioned it had delivered its response to Egypt and Qatar concerning the “framework agreement” for a proposed prisoner swap deal and ceasefire within the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is believed to nonetheless be holding round 136 Israelis.
Israel launched a lethal offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 cross-border assault by Hamas, killing no less than 2,585 Palestinians and injuring 6,978 others, whereas almost 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed within the Hamas assault.
The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s inhabitants internally displaced amid acute shortages of meals, clear water and drugs, whereas 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been broken or destroyed, in keeping with the U.N.
Source: www.dailysabah.com