Washington D.C. – CNN, August 19, 2024
The push to finalize a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza has reached a “decisive moment,” the United States’ top diplomat said Monday as Hamas and the Israeli prime minister expressed skepticism about progress in talks.
This is “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a news conference alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv before the two met.
“It is time for everyone to get to yes, and to not look for any excuses to say no,” Blinken said. “It is time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process.”
Shortly after meeting the Israeli president, Blinken drove to Jerusalem to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two met for three hours, two-and-a-half hours of which were one-on-one.
The prime minister’s office said the meeting “was positive and was held in a good atmosphere,” adding that Netanyahu “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into account Israel’s security needs.”
Blinken is also slated to meet with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
A new ceasefire plan drawn up by the US, Qatar and Egypt was presented on Friday following two days of high stakes talks in Doha. The mediators have been stepping up efforts as the Middle East braces for a possible Iranian attack on Israel, and after the death toll since October in Gaza reached 40,000 people — a bleak figure that underscores 10 months of suffering, malnutrition and despair in the Palestinian enclave during Israel’s war with Hamas.
