Blinken tells Hamas to accept Israel’s ‘generous’ truce proposal

Riyadh — US secretary of state Antony Blinken urged Hamas on Monday to swiftly accept Israel’s latest and “extraordinarily generous” proposal for a Gaza truce to secure a release of hostages, amid a diplomatic drive to end the war between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas negotiators met Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal Israel presented at the weekend, ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on the southern border city of Rafah. They left Cairo later in the day, adding they would return with a response, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera TV said.

“The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly,” Blinken said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

“I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”

A source briefed on the talks said Israel’s proposal entailed a deal to accept the release of fewer than 40 of the 130 hostages believed to be held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel, and a second phase of a truce consisting of a “period of sustained calm”.

Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop in the latest of a series of troubleshooting trips to the Middle East since the Gaza war ignited in October, destabilising the wider tinderbox region.

Blinken reiterated that the US could not support an Israeli ground assault on Rafah — where Israel says Hamas’ last four intact battalions are holed up — “in the absence of an [Israeli] plan to ensure that civilians will not be harmed”.

He said the US and Saudi Arabia had done “intense work together” over the past few months towards a normalisation accord between the kingdom and Israel, a deal that includes Washington giving Riyadh agreements on bilateral defence and security commitments as well as nuclear co-operation.

Diplomats say the Gaza war derailed progress towards Israeli-Saudi normalisation.

The US and Saudi components of the agreement are “potentially very close to completion”, Blinken said. “To move forward with normalisation, two things will be required: calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.”

In return for normalisation, Arab states are also pushing for Israel to accept a pathway to Palestinian statehood on land it captured in the 1967 Middle East war, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.

Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, and Israel followed by imposing a siege on Gaza, then mounting an air and ground assault. Palestinians have been suffering shortages of food, fuel and medicine in the humanitarian crisis that accompanied the Israeli offensive.

Blinken, speaking earlier at the opening of a meeting with Gulf Arab states, said the most effective way to address the crisis and create space for a more lasting solution was to get a ceasefire that allowed the release of hostages held by Hamas.

He was expected to discuss with Arab foreign ministers what the governance of Gaza might look like after the Israel-Hamas war ended, a senior state department official said.

Blinken is also expected to bring together Arab and European countries to discuss how Europe can help reconstruction in Gaza.

“We will discuss the hostages, humanitarian situation and the ceasefire. Things are progressing, but we must always remain prudent,” French foreign minister Stephane Sejourne said on Monday.

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh said all parties needed to find a path towards a two-state solution to the conflict or the Middle East risked another catastrophe.

An assault on Rafah, which Israel says is the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza, has been anticipated for weeks, but foreign governments and the UN have expressed concern that such action could result in a humanitarian disaster given the number of displaced people crammed into the area.

The US agrees with Israel’s objective that Hamas needs to be eradicated and cannot play a role in Gaza’s future, but Washington does not want Israel to occupy the enclave. 

Reuters