Blinken wraps up Middle East tour as truce remains elusive

TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday sought to advance a deal to secure the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza in talks with Israeli moderates as he closed a Middle East tour without securing a pause in fighting, AFP reported.

US officials had tempered expectations that Blinken would achieve a breakthrough during his fifth visit to the region since the October 7 raids, and few expected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree immediately to a Qatari-mediated offer.

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Blinken remained upbeat despite Netanyahu’s vocal rejection on Wednesday of Hamas’s demands and his vows to expand the four-month offensive in Gaza, hours after they met.

The top US diplomat held talks in Tel Aviv with Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, two former military chiefs who joined a unity cabinet after October 7.

Blinken said he spoke to them about “the hostages and the strong desire that we both have to see them returned to their families, the work that’s being done to that end”.

“The most urgent issue is of course to find ways to bring back the hostages,” Gantz told the the secretary of state.

 “That being done, many things can be achieved,” Gantz said.

HOPES FOR PROGRESS

Blinken has shuttled around the Middle East on his fifth tour since October, and brought to Israel a response via Qatar from Hamas to a deal for the release of prisoners.

The US secretary of state said he still saw space for negotiations to improve on the deal and secure the prisoners’ release, as Egypt and Qatar held a fresh round of talks with Hamas in Cairo on Thursday.

Blinken also met Israel’s main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, on Thursday.

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Blinken has pressed Israel to let more assistance to Gaza, where the United Nations has voiced fears of famine and most buildings lie in rubble, but Israel has cited security concerns for strict limits on entry into the blockaded territory.

In a plea at a news conference on Wednesday, Blinken said Israel should not “dehumanise” Palestinians for the Hamas raids.

“The overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the attacks of October 7, and the families in Gaza whose survival depends on deliveries of aid from Israel are just like our families,” Blinken said.

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