
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a joint press conference today (Wednesday) with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, during which he stated that a deal to release the hostages still held by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is close.
Blinken praised the joint efforts between the US and French governments to achieve the current 60-day ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon "that is holding, that's moving forward, and that is creating the possibility for a much different and much better future for the country as well as for its relationship with Israel."
"Together [with France], we put together an oversight mechanism to address concerns about ceasefire violations, and it is working," he said. "Challenges remain, but so far, the mechanism is functioning well, and we've seen as recently as yesterday, the withdrawal of more than a third of the Israeli forces in Lebanon."
Blnken said that he believes "the ceasefire can be a bridge to a durable peace that allows people of both sides of the border, in Israel and Lebanon, to return to their homes, to return to their lives, and to move forward in greater peace and security."
The Secretary of State also addressed the attempts to reach a ceasefire deal in Doha that would end the war between Israel and Hamas and see the return of the hostages.
"In the Middle East, we're very close to a ceasefire and hostage agreement," he said. "I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have left. But if we don't, then the plan that President Biden put forward for a ceasefire/hostage deal will be handed over to the incoming administration. And I believe that when we get that deal - and we'll get it - it will be on the basis of the plan that President Biden put before the world back in May."
He added that the Biden Administration has "done an incredible amount of work on what follows a hostage and ceasefire agreement in terms of the necessary arrangements for Gaza's security, its administration, its reconstruction, a day after plan."
Blinken said that this post-war plan and the work the outgoing administration has done towards normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia are ready to be handed off to the incoming administration.