US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Egypt and Qatar to mediate a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but the two sides remain far apart on key issues. Hamas has accused the US of acquiescing to new conditions from Israel, while Israel has refused to abandon two strategic corridors in Gaza that have been an obstacle in the talks.
Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he had accepted a US proposal to bridge gaps between the two sides, but Netanyahu’s office did not comment on the meeting. Meanwhile, Netanyahu met with groups of families of fallen soldiers and hostages in Gaza, telling them that Israel will not abandon the corridors. A senior US official rejected Netanyahu’s alleged comments that Israel would never leave the corridors as “totally untrue”.
The talks come as Israel’s military said it recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in Hamas’s October 7 attack, which sparked the current conflict. The recovery is a blow to Hamas, which hopes to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a lasting ceasefire.
However, the two sides still appear to be far apart on key issues. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages, while Israel estimates that around a third are dead. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with widespread destruction and forced displacements of civilians.
Antony Blinken (Image via Getty)
The US is under pressure to secure a ceasefire deal to prevent a wider regional war, following the targeted killings of militant leaders in Iran and Lebanon. The recovery of the bodies is a significant development, but it remains unclear whether it will be enough to bring the two sides closer to a deal.
In other developments, an Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed at least 12 people at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, in what the military said was a precise strike on a Hamas command centre. Another strike killed a mother and her five children in central Gaza. The Palestinian Civil Defence said it was still searching for survivors after the strike on the Mustafa Hafez school in Gaza City.
The Israeli military said the strikes targeted Hamas militants who had set up command centres inside schools and were planning and launching attacks. The strikes have caused widespread outrage and criticism, with many calling for an immediate ceasefire and end to the violence.
Despite the challenges, Blinken is pushing forward with efforts to secure a deal, meeting with Egyptian officials and set to meet with Qatari leaders later this week. The US is under pressure to bring the conflict to a swift end, but it remains unclear whether the two sides will be able to reach a deal.
