Blinken is set to hold talks with the Egyptian president and foreign minister in the coastal city of El Alamein following a visit to Israel, where he met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Afterwards, he will head to a meeting with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Doha, the scene of ceasefire talks last week.
Both Egypt and Qatar are working alongside the United States to broker a truce in the 10-month Gaza conflict.
Blinken said Monday he had “a very constructive meeting” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who “confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal”.
Ahead of those talks, Hamas called on the mediators to implement the framework set out by US President Joe Biden in late May, rather than hold more negotiations.
The movement said on Sunday that the current US proposal “responds to Netanyahu’s conditions”.
At the weekend, Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said US optimism about the prospects for the deal was an “illusion”.
On Monday, the US secretary of state had said: “This is a decisive moment — probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security”.
source: Ahram Online
