US Secretary of State’s trip comes before a vote on a US draft resolution calling for ‘immediate ceasefire’ linked to a hostage deal
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The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar called for the opening of all Gaza border crossings for aid, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a visit to Israel to try to secure a deal to pause the fighting in the ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Mr Blinken’s sixth visit to Israel since the war in Gaza began in October is also focused on urging Israeli leaders to halt plans to launch a ground operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, where about 1.5 million people are sheltering from Israeli bombardments.
A joint statement published on Friday said foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar stressed the “urgent need to achieve a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire” at a meeting with Mr Blinken in Cairo.
They called “for the opening of all border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip to allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance”, and the removal of “all barriers imposed by Israel that obstruct the flow of aid to more than two million Palestinians facing famine in Gaza”.
Nearly 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza war, with more than double that number injured.
The US and regional allies continue to push for a deal to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza, most of them abducted in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Hamas has called for the release of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Despite hopes for a six-week ceasefire deal before the beginning of Ramadan, reports suggest that talks have stalled amid intense diplomatic pressure on both sides to reach an agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a delegation to travel to Qatar on Friday for ceasefire talks, his office said on Thursday evening. The delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, will meet CIA chief William Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman and Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel “to promote the release of the hostages” in Gaza, it said.
“The meeting of senior officials will take place as part of the negotiations in Doha and its purpose is to advance the efforts to return the abductees,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said.
An Israeli delegation left Qatar this week amid continued negotiations to secure a pause in almost six months of fighting. The Qatari Foreign Ministry later said technical talks were continuing and Doha remained “cautiously optimistic”. But the ministry said it was too early to talk of a breakthrough.
US President Joe Biden is reportedly becoming increasingly frustrated with Mr Netanyahu, who faces criticism at home for not prioritising the freeing of hostages, which much of Israel’s far-right government say will hurt the country’s war effort.
Mr Blinken said on Thursday in Cairo that he believes talks in Doha could still bring about a ceasefire.
“Negotiators continue to work. The gaps are narrowing and we are continuing to push for an agreement in Doha. There is still difficult work to get there. But I continue to believe it is possible,” Mr Blinken said.
“We have closed the gaps but there are still gaps. So I can’t put a timeline on it. I can just say that we are committed to doing everything possible to reaching an agreement.”
Mr Blinken’s trip to Israel comes ahead of a major UN Security Council vote on a US draft resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” linked to a hostage deal. The draft, seen by media, does not demand a ceasefire but simply “determines the imperative” need for one.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters in New York “anything that doesn’t call for a ceasefire” will not suffice.
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