Blinken to arrive in Israel as US pushes for Gaza ceasefire
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Israel on Sunday as part of Washington's intensifying diplomatic push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that will end the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.
"What we've done is taken the gaps that remain and have bridged those in a way that we think basically is a deal that is now ready to close and implement and move forward," a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Friday.The negotiations are taking place in the shadow of a feared regional escalation. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Talks on how to implement the deal are expected to continue early next week, before senior officials reconvene in Cairo, with the aim to conclude the deal later in the week in Cairo. Even as hopes grew for a ceasefire, war raged on. At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike in the Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, health officials said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders, citing Hamas rocket fire nearby.
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