Anthony Blinken: Working to reach agreement on hostages in Gaza

The US is working intensively with Qatar and Egypt’s ombudsmen to fill the remaining gaps in an agreement on hostages, which will provide for a halt to hostilities between Israel and Hamas, US Secretary of State said today. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the latest proposals for an agreement on hostages made by the Hamas Islamic organization as unrealistic today, but said that a delegation would leave for Qatar to discuss Israel’s position in a possible agreement. Blinken, speaking during a visit to Austria, said that the fact that Israel sends a group reflects “a sense of both possibility and urgency” of reaching an agreement on the release of hostages. “There are discussions currently taking place as we speak here, and I am convinced that they will continue in the next few days,” Blinken told reporters. Netanyahu’s office also reported today that the prime minister approved plans for a military operation in Rafa, the city in the southern part of Gaza, where over a million people have found shelter and said the army is preparing operational issues and evacuation of the civilian population. Anthony Blinken pointed out that the US wants to see a clear and applicable plan for a military operation in Rafa, among others in order to remove civilians from the war front, but Washington has not yet seen such a plan.