Washington:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas was the only obstacle to a ceasefire in Gaza as the Palestinian group prepared to send a delegation back to Cairo for talks on Saturday.
“We're waiting to see if they can actually accept a yes in response to the ceasefire and the release of hostages,” Blinken said late Friday.
“The reality right now is that the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”
Blinken pointed to problems in negotiations with Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist group with which Israel does not engage directly and which Israel has pledged to eliminate.
“The leaders of Hamas that we deal with indirectly – through the Qataris, through the Egyptians – obviously live outside Gaza,” Blinken said.
“The ultimate decision makers are the people who are actually in Gaza itself and with whom none of us have direct contact.”
Blinken addressed a dinner at the McCain Institute's Sedona Forum in Arizona, two days after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders during his latest visit to the Middle East.
Ahead of his talks with Blinken, Netanyahu vowed to press ahead with an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah to root out Hamas regardless of the outcome of negotiations on a temporary ceasefire that would include the release of hostages .
President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly warned Netanyahu's government against moving into Rafah, where some 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge after fleeing Israeli assaults in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Blinken said Israel, which relies on the United States for military and diplomatic support, has yet to “present a credible plan to actually protect civilians at risk” in Rafah.
“Without such a plan, we cannot support a major military operation against Rafah because the damage it would cause exceeds what is acceptable,” Blinken said.
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