The top US diplomat’s ninth trip to the region since the war began in October last year comes days after the US put forward bridging proposals that it and mediators Qatar and Egypt believe would close gaps between the warring parties, according to The Guardian.
US officials have cited fresh optimism to bring the deal over the finish line but also caution that there is still work to be done.
“What we’ve done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday.
However, Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP, “To say that we are getting close to a deal is an illusion.”
“We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats,” he added.
In occupied lands, Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.
Talks on how to implement the deal are expected to continue early next week, before senior officials reconvene in Cairo, with the aim to conclude the deal later in the week in Cairo.
Israel’s negotiating team on Saturday expressed “cautious optimism” on the possibility of advancing a deal, according to a statement on Saturday from Netanyahu’s office.
Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha told Al Jazeera TV on Saturday that Israel had added conditions to the ceasefire talks and said that Netanyahu is using them to hinder efforts.
Even as hopes grew for a ceasefire, Israel continued its deadly assault on Gaza.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities. The number does not include the thousands believed to be buried under the rubble or those who have died due to malnutrition or lack of medical treatment due to Israel’s destruction of the hospital system.
SD/