WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel this weekend to push forward a Gaza ceasefire deal as the United States tries to bridge the gaps in talks in the region, the State Department said.
Blinken will leave Saturday and seek to “conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees through the bridging proposal” presented Friday during talks in Doha by the United States, a State Department statement said.
President Joe Biden earlier Friday said that “we are closer than we have ever been” to a ceasefire in the 10-month-old Gaza war after two days of talks in the Qatari capital Doha.
Biden spoke by telephone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to discuss the “significant progress” in the talks, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said.
Biden and the two key Arab leaders had publicly urged Hamas and Israel to join the talks.
The White House earlier said diplomats will keep working on details with a hope to conclude the accord later next week in Cairo.
“This proposal would achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, ensure humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout Gaza and create the conditions for broader regional stability,” the State Department statement said.
“Secretary Blinken will underscore the critical need for all parties in the region to avoid escalation or any other actions that could undermine the ability to finalize an agreement,” it said.
It will be the ninth trip by Blinken to the Middle East since Hamas on October 7 carried out the deadliest-ever attack on Israel, which has responded with a relentless military campaign in Gaza.
The State Department did not immediately announce any stops after Israel. Blinken has met with key Arab allies on previous trips.
Blinken to head to Israel this weekend to press Gaza truce
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Blinken to head to Israel this weekend to press Gaza truce
- White House earlier said diplomats will keep working on details with hope to conclude accord later next week in Cairo
- The State Department did not immediately announce any stops after Israel
Lebanon foreign minister declines Tehran visit, proposes talks in neutral country
- Lebanon’s foreign minister Youssef Raji cited ‘current conditions’ for the decision not to go to Iran
Lebanon’s foreign minister Youssef Raji said on Wednesday he had declined an invitation to visit Tehran for now, proposing instead talks with Iran in a mutually agreed neutral third country, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
Raji cited “current conditions” for the decision not to go to Iran, without elaborating, and stressed that the move did not mean rejection of dialogue with Iran. He did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for additional comment.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had extended the invitation last week, seeking talks on bilateral ties.
Raji said Lebanon stood ready to open a new phase of constructive relations with Iran, on the condition that ties be based strictly on mutual respect, full recognition of each country’s independence and sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs under any pretext.
In an apparent reference to calls to disarm Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed movement allied for decades to Iran, Raji added that no strong state could be built unless the government held the exclusive right to hold weapons.
Hezbollah, once a dominant political force with wide influence over the Lebanese state, was severely weakened by Israeli strikes last year that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire. It has been under mounting domestic and international pressure to surrender its weapons and place all arms under state control.
In August, Iran’s top security official Ali Larijani visited Beirut, warning Lebanon not to “confuse its enemies with its friends.” In June, Foreign Minister Araqchi said Tehran sought a
“new page” in ties.
