After meetings in Israel, on August 20, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Egypt and Qatar to meet with officials from the two countries who are mediating to promote a ceasefire in Gaza . An anonymous US official revealed to the New York Times that, through officials in Egypt and Qatar, Mr. Blinken urged Hamas leaders to continue negotiating an agreement to ensure a ceasefire and release. for the remaining hostages in Gaza.
The Gaza ceasefire plan that President Joe Biden's administration is discussing - often referred to by all sides as the "bridging proposal" - is a set of provisions that have been supported by the US, Egypt and Qatar.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in Gaza are expected to resume in Egypt this week. Previously, the two-day high-level negotiations in Qatar, which ended on August 16, did not achieve any breakthrough results.
On August 19, Secretary of State Blinken discussed the "bridging proposal" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Secretary of State Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a proposal from President Joe Biden's administration to narrow some remaining differences with Hamas to push for a deal. In meetings with Israel, Mr. Blinken emphasized that this "may be the last chance" to secure a ceasefire agreement.
In Egypt, Mr. Blinken met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the summer palace in El Alamein and met with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. Then on August 20, the American diplomat flew to Doha to meet with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
However, the meeting did not take place because Emir Al-Thani was unwell. Mr. Blinken spoke with Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani by phone as soon as the plane landed in Doha and conveyed some of the content he had discussed in Israel and Egypt.
At the end of his trip to the Middle East, Secretary of State Blinken reiterated that the Israeli Prime Minister had signed the proposal and urged Hamas to do the same. However, Israeli and Hamas officials both expressed skepticism about the possibility of a breakthrough.
After talks in Doha last week, Hamas officials described the proposal as too biased against Israel.
Mr. Osama Hamdan - a Hamas official - shared on August 19 that Hamas had accepted the framework for the ceasefire outlined by President Biden at the end of May. But he accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of stating new conditions. for this proposal and Israeli officials did not budge on any of the key issues raised at last week's talks. The Israeli army continues to be stationed along the Gaza border with Egypt.
