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Blinken: Ceasefire agreement for Gaza must be concluded in the next few days

The ceasefire and hostage-taking agreement with Gaza includes a detailed timetable for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the Israeli army must remain in the enclave's strategic corridors.

“The agreement is very clear on the timing and locations of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and Israel has agreed to that,” Blinken told reporters as he continued efforts to advance a deal in Doha following visits to Egypt and Israel.

Egypt and Qatar, with the help of the United States, were the main brokers in the agreement to release the remaining 109 hostages. The United States also hopes that this agreement would lead to an end to the Gaza war.

Blinken met with Netanyahu for three hours in Jerusalem on Monday, after which both he and the prime minister said Israel had accepted a “bridge proposal” that the United States put forward in Qatar last week to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas over the implementation of U.S. President Joe Biden's May 31 proposed agreement.

Both during Blinken's visit and afterward, Netanyahu insisted that Israeli forces must remain in two critical security corridors in the Gaza Strip: Philadelphia and Netzarim.

(LR): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (Source: FLASH90/CANVA)

On Tuesday, as the US prepared for final high-level talks in Cairo this week, Netanyahu said an Israeli presence in the Philadelphia Corridor must be part of that agreement.

Blinken, who had indicated in Tel Aviv that the issue of the two corridors still needed to be resolved, said in Qatar that the withdrawal of Israeli forces was clarified in the existing agreement.

Blinking commented

“This is set out in the agreement, an agreement that Israel has approved, and it contains specific details on the locations and the timeline for the withdrawal,” Blinken said.

He reiterated that Netanyahu supported the “bridging proposal,” which included a clear timetable for the withdrawal.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani reiterated to Blinken that his country, together with Egypt and the United States, remains committed to its role as mediator in the ceasefire talks in the Gaza Strip, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

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Qatar will continue its efforts and communications to end the war, the ministry said in a statement.



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