WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the Middle East on Monday, stopping first in Egypt and Israel on the heels of a dramatic Israeli rescue operation that freed four hostages but killed scores of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken’s trip to the region — his eighth since Oct. 7 — comes more than a week after President Joe Biden outlined a three-phase proposal to end the war between Israel and Hamas, neither of which have explicitly endorsed the deal. Following his meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country has been a key mediator in the cease-fire talks, Blinken described the Palestinian militant group as the only obstacle to a deal.
“My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region, is if you want a cease-fire, press Hamas to say yes,” Blinken said before departing for Tel Aviv.
Blinken traveled to Israel to secure support for the proposed cease-fire during meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Later in the week, Blinken will also visit Jordan to attend a humanitarian conference on Gaza and Qatar, which is helping mediate a potential cease-fire agreement.
The deal on the table begins with a six-week pause in the fighting and release of women, wounded and elderly hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners. The second and third phases call for the release of male hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory.
Hamas has yet to formally respond to what Biden described as an Israeli proposal and has long demanded an end to the war as part of any hostage release.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Monday that the militant group is “ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war.” He also called on the Biden administration to put pressure on Israel.
A deal could threaten Netanyahu’s political survival, with right-wing members of his coalition vowing to bring down his government should Israel accept cease-fire terms that do not ensure Hamas’ total defeat. The domestic pressure on Netanyahu deepened Sunday when centrist members of the emergency government Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot announced their resignations.
Blinken arrived in Israel hours before the UN Security Council was expected to vote on a US-led resolution that envisions a “full and immediate” cease-fire and the release of hostages. The text “urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”
Even if it’s adopted by the 15-member council, there is no indication the US-sponsored resolution would have an immediate impact on the ground in Gaza. The UN body also passed a cease-fire resolution in March that did not halt the fighting.
The US diplomatic push comes two days after Israel’s military carried out a daytime raid on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza that freed four hostages including Noa Argamani, whose abduction from the Nova musical festival on Oct. 7 was captured on video that went viral.
The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said that at least 270 people were killed and another 700 wounded in the Israeli operation in Nuseirat. An officer from Israel’s elite Yamam counterterrorism unit was also fatally shot during the rescue mission.
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese said in a statement that she was “relieved that four hostages have been released,” but that “it should not have come at the expense of Palestinians.”
Israel’s eight-month military campaign has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, a majority of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The militants on Oct. 7 killed roughly 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage, according to Israeli estimates. Following Saturday’s rescue operation, Israel says 116 hostages remain in Gaza, at least 41 of whom are believed dead.
