Israel is engaged in complex negotiations over the return of its hostages held in Gaza, but it also has principles to uphold that are vital to its security, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday (18).
“There are things we can be flexible about and there are things we can’t be flexible about, and we insist on those. We know very well how to differentiate the two,” he said.
As the war in Gaza rages on, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel to, in the words of a senior administration official, “continue to underscore the importance of achieving this [acordo]”.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in northern Khan Younis and eastern Deir al-Balah on Friday, further reducing the boundaries of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.
Palestinians in Gaza have faced a series of evacuation orders. According to the UN, since October last year, more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip has been subject to such orders, severely impacting the local population’s access to essential services and shelter.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza – launched after the October 7 Hamas attacks – has killed more than 40,000 people and reduced much of the territory to rubble. To make matters worse for Gazans, doctors this week detected the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years.
Peace efforts accelerate
Blinken’s trip to Israel comes amid urgent efforts to finalize an elusive Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.
A new ceasefire plan drawn up by the US, Qatar and Egypt was unveiled on Friday (16) after two days of high-stakes negotiations in Doha. Mediators have stepped up efforts amid fears of Iranian retaliation over the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran.
Blinken’s visit became an established pattern for the top U.S. diplomat to travel for in-person meetings to project high-level public pressure around the need for a deal. He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior figures on Monday.
The senior administration official declined to say how the U.S. plans to pressure the Israeli government to accept the deal.
“I think it’s clear that a deal would not only be in the interest of the Israeli people, but it would also help alleviate some of the suffering in Gaza. “We will raise all of these issues directly,” the official traveling with Blinken told reporters.
US officials including President Joe Biden have expressed fresh optimism about finalising a ceasefire deal. However, Hamas has dismissed the progress, with a senior official from the militant group telling the BBC that mediators were “peddling wishful thinking”.
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli negotiating team is still cautiously optimistic about reaching a ceasefire deal with hostages. A statement released Saturday (17) said there was “hope that strong pressure” on Hamas from the United States and mediators “will allow a breakthrough in the negotiations.”
