US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said negotiations for a hostage release and ceasefire in Gaza were “right on the brink” as mediators representing Israel and Hamas continued to work on closing a deal.
Envoys representing the Biden White House and the incoming Trump administration were taking part in a “final round” of talks, meeting delegates from Israel, Egypt and Qatar.
Claims that terror group Hamas had accepted the draft agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages were disputed, with Israeli officials suggesting they had received no confirmation of the move.
But Blinken indicated Israel was moving towards acceptance of a deal and was now waiting for a response from Hamas.
“It’s closer than it’s ever been before,” Blinken said. “But, right now, as we sit here, we await final word from Hamas on its acceptance, and until we get that word, we’ll remain on the brink.”
Israeli media and reports from the Qatari capital said the agreement would involve an initial release of 33 Israeli hostages, including children, women, elderly people and the sick, and up to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, alongside a partial Israeli troop withdrawal in a first phase lasting 60 days.
But in a speech given on the Biden administration’s Middle East policy at the Atlantic Council, Blinken was deeply critical of both Hamas and Israel over their conduct throughout the war in Gaza.
Hamas has “cynically weaponised the suffering of Palestinians”, Blinken said in the speech, pointing to evidence that the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar told mediators the death of Palestinian civilians were “necessary sacrifices”.
But turning to the Israeli government, Blinken said: “We’ve long made the point to the Israeli government that Hamas cannot be defeated by a military campaign alone, that without a clear alternative, a post-conflict plan and a credible political horizon for the Palestinians, Hamas, or something just as abhorrent and dangerous, will grow back.”
He then suggested: Indeed, we assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost,” Blinken reveals. “That is a recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war.”
