2024-07-31 16:32:46
“I can’t say what that means. I can tell you that the need for a ceasefire remains,” Blinken told Singapore’s Channel News Asia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his determination to destroy “Hamas” in response to the group’s October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
Washington is Israel’s main military backer and is pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza, which Blinken said is still “obviously in the interests of the Israeli hostages and the Gazans” who are “caught in this crossfire by Hamas”.
As the political leader of Hamas, Haniyeh oversaw negotiations for a deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip and release hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
During a visit to Singapore, Blinken said a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was a key condition to prevent the conflict from spreading to the rest of the region.
“From day one, we are working not only to try to achieve a better situation in Gaza, but also to prevent the spread of the conflict – both in the north with Lebanon and the Hezbollah group, and in the Red Sea with the Houthis, and in Iran, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere,” Blinken said at a forum in Singapore.
“An important condition to ensure that this does not happen and that we can move towards better conditions is to reach a ceasefire,” the US Secretary of State emphasized.
The mediator of the ceasefire, Qatar, where the political leadership of “Hamas” is located and where Haniya also lived until now, has expressed doubts about the future of the talks after the killing of the leader of the group.
“Hamas” has promised that the “cowardly” killing of the leader “will not go unanswered”.
2024-07-31 16:32:46