“Time is running out,” according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as fears of further escalation in Gaza grow.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are intensifying amid fears of a regional escalation following the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Iran and Lebanon.
Antony Blinken met with fellow Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Wednesday to advance the ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hamas.
The US Secretary of State suggested to reporters that Israel had agreed to a “proposal for rapprochement“but Egyptian officials have expressed skepticism to The Associated Press, saying Hamas would not accept the plan as is..
A ceasefire proposal “without guarantees”
An Egyptian official close to the negotiations said: The proposal first demands the release of the most vulnerable Israeli civilian hostages held by Hamas. in the Gaza Strip.
The parties would then negotiate the second and third phases of the deal, without Israel or the mediators offering any “guarantees” to Hamas.
“Americans offer promises, not guarantees”the official says. “Hamas will not accept it, because the deal requires the (Palestinian group) to release civilian hostages in exchange for a six-week pause in fighting, with no guarantee of a permanent ceasefire.”.
He adds that The proposal does not make clear whether it will force Israel to withdraw from the two strategic Gaza corridors : the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt and the east-west Netzarim Corridor which crosses the territory.
“This is not acceptable to us, nor, of course, to Hamas.”the Egyptian official said.
The ceasefire proposal presented by the United States involves a three-phase process that includes the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas is believed to still be holding nearly 110 hostages taken in the October 7 attack that sparked the warduring which some 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has since killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The war has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.
Massive rocket attack by Hezbollah
Iran-backed Hezbollah has launched more than 50 rockets on Wednesday, hitting several private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
Hezbollah said the attack was a response to an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night.