US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday downplayed pessimism over the prospects of a hostage release deal, saying that the US will present a new proposal for a deal “very soon”.
Speaking during a press conference in London with United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Blinken was asked whether the talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal are at a deadlock. He was also asked whether he could give any assurances to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the Philadelphi Corridor and that Israel’s security will be preserved even if Israeli forces are not present there.
“On the ceasefire, here’s what I can tell you: More than 90 percent of the issues have been agreed, decided. So we’re down to a handful of issues – not even a handful of issues – that are hard but fully resolvable, in our judgment. And as we’ve said before, when you get down to the last 10 percent, the last 10 meters, those are, almost by definition, the hardest ground to cover. But we believe that these are fully resolvable,” Blinken replied.
“Right now, we’re working intensely with our Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to work together to bridge any remaining gaps. And in the coming time, very soon, we’ll put that before the parties and we’ll see what they say,” he added.
“I think what is evident, though, is the strong interest that everyone in the region has in being able to get the ceasefire concluded,” continued Blinken. “It’s clearly in Israel’s interest. It’s in its interest to get hostages home. It’s in its interest to turn down the temperature in Gaza. It’s in its interest to have possible off-ramps in the north with Hezbollah and Lebanon that a ceasefire in Gaza would make more possible. It’s in its interest to also further enable us to calm the situation in the Red Sea with the Houthis. And it’s in its interest because it opens other prospects that could fundamentally alter Israel’s security for the long term, including the prospect of normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.”
The Washington Post reported last week that the US has been engaging with Egypt and Qatar to outline a final "take it or leave it" deal.
However, the same newspaper reported on Saturday that US officials have announced that they have "indefinitely postponed" the presentation of the final deal.
According to the Post, the latest obstacle is Hamas' "abrupt introduction" of its demand that Israel release high-profile terrorists even in exchange for humanitarian prisoners.
Blinken told reporters on Thursday that it was incumbent on both Israel and Hamas to say yes on remaining issues to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal.
Blinken told a news conference in Haiti that “nearly 90%” of the Gaza ceasefire deal is agreed, but there are critical issues remaining where there are gaps, including the issue of the Philadelphi corridor.
The United States has been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that President Joe Biden first laid out in May, but Hamas has continuously rejected every proposal that has been presented to it.