US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the Hamas statement supporting the UN resolution is a hopeful sign, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a meeting with him last night his “commitment to the proposal.”
Earlier, Blinken urged Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal announced by Washington to end the Gaza war, a plan that the United Nations Security Council voted to support.
Hamas welcomed the approval of the draft resolution, and said in a statement that it is ready “to cooperate with the mediator brothers to enter into indirect negotiations on implementing these principles that are in line with the demands of our people and our resistance.”
Blinken added, “Talks on plans for the day after the end of the war will continue this afternoon and over the next two days.”
The US Secretary of State pointed out that the talk coming from the Hamas leadership inside Gaza is the most important and what we are waiting to see, explaining that “Hamas must decide whether to move forward with the proposed proposal or not.”
Blinken warned: “The longer the matter continues, the more likely the conflict will expand.”
During his eighth trip to the Middle East since the start of the war, Blinken called on the countries of the region to put pressure on Hamas to agree to the proposal. The United States said that Israel accepted the proposal, although Israeli officials did not officially announce this.
Last month, US President Joe Biden revealed the plan that envisages a phased ceasefire, leading to the eventual end of the war. But Israel still says that it will only agree to temporary truces until Hamas is eliminated, while the movement says that it will not accept a truce without guarantees to end the war.
As the conflict entered its ninth month, the plan received additional support from the United Nations, with 14 members of the Security Council adopting a US-drafted resolution in favor of the proposal, while Russia abstained from voting.
Blinken left Cairo on Monday, heading to Israel. He met separately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant.