Finance
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has arrived in Israel, where he will meet with President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to advance the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
This is Blinken’s seventh visit since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced in a statement on Tuesday night that the meeting with Herzog will take place in Tel Aviv, while Blinken will meet with Netanyahu at the latter’s office in Jerusalem.
The Secretary of State will also meet with Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, and National Security Adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi. Blinken will also meet with the hostages’ families.
The top US diplomat arrived in the Middle East on Monday and met with Jordanian and Saudi officials to discuss regional peace efforts.
Israel has agreed to the mediators’ proposal to free 33 of its hostages (women, the elderly, and those suffering from diseases) in Hamas control in return for over 600 Palestinian inmates detained in Israeli facilities. Many of the Palestinians imprisoned are suspected of murder.
Blinken had previously stated that he would not visit Israel during his current trip to the Middle East, but sources in Israel’s Prime Minister’s office told IANS that there were some blockages in the indirect mediatory talks between Hamas and Israel being held in Cairo.
The secretary of State will be discussing with the Israeli leaders the issues leading to the blockade in mediatory talks.
Netanyahu has warned that if the mediatory talks in Cairo fail, Israel will assault the Gaza Strip’s Rafah sector.
Source:OCN
