U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel on Friday to try to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the militant group Hamas, as the U.N. Security Council prepared to vote on a U.S. draft resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire.
In Israel, Blinken will “discuss the need to ensure the defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah, in a manner that protects civilians, does not impede the delivery of humanitarian aid and promotes Israel’s overall security,” the State Department said.
The United States opposes Israel’s planned ground offensive against Rafah along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Israel says is necessary to achieve its goal of defeating Hamas and ensuring that the U.S.-designated terror group cannot launch another attack. Attacks similar to those that hit Israel on October 7th.
A spokesman for U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States is expected to submit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council on Friday that would “unequivocally support ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which holds hostages part of the agreement” in a statement.
U.S. officials have been negotiating a text focusing on a six-week ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Blinken was in Egypt on Thursday for talks focused on securing a ceasefire, releasing hostages and sending more humanitarian aid to Gaza to help Palestinian civilians in desperate need of aid.
“There was a clear consensus around some shared priorities,” Blinken said at a news conference on Thursday about his discussions in the Egyptian capital. “Number one: the need for an immediate and sustained ceasefire and the release of hostages.”
He added that a ceasefire would create space for more humanitarian aid.
Blinken said negotiators were continuing to work toward a ceasefire.
Blinken told a news conference: “The differences are narrowing and we will continue to push for an agreement in Doha. It will still be difficult to achieve this goal, but I still believe it is possible.”
“We have closed the gap, but there is still a gap. So, I cannot give a timeline. All I can say is that we are committed to doing everything possible to reach an agreement,” he added.
The main point of contention in the talks is that Hamas says it will only release the remaining hostages as part of a deal to end the war, while Israel says it will only consider a temporary pause.
More than a million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah, with many fleeing other parts of Gaza in an attempt to find safety amid the war.
In addition to the number of people killed in the war – 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s shocking attack on Israel on October 7, and nearly 1,200 people were killed in Israel’s subsequent counteroffensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. 32,000 dead – Delivering humanitarian aid into the war zone to help starving Palestinians has become one of the most contentious points of conflict between Israel and its Western allies.
The United States has airdropped multiple rounds of aid to Gaza and is working to deliver aid by sea. International aid organizations stress that delivering aid to Gaza through limited ground crossings is difficult and inaccessible to many areas of Gaza due to ongoing violence and devastation caused by the war.
VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching contributed to this report. Information for this report was obtained in part from The Associated Press, AFP and Reuters.
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