By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the press on Thursday that a deal to release hostages in Gaza is still possible but that obstacles remain. Blinken who was in Albania, said at a news conference that there are still “very hard” issues to overcome and explained: “We’re now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement and I believe that it is possible.” He added: “There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But we’re committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement.” Hamas had proposed several different agreements but Israel rejected both of those proposals. Intelligence chiefs from the U.S., Egypt and Israel along with the Qatari prime minister are in ongoing talks on a deal that would see a longer humanitarian pause – Hamas had proposed a 135-day ceasefire leading to a permanent peace but that plan was rejected by Israel.
Meanwhile, the situation in Rafah is growing more dire by the day as Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continue to attack infrastructure there. Nasser Hospital was struck on Thursday, killing and injuring women, children and the elderly with Israel’s military claiming they were rooting out Hamas terrorists which Doctors Without Borders disputed on Thursday. Egypt is now building a miles-wide buffer zone and a wall on its border with Gaza according to new satellite imagery. Egypt’s President al-Sisi already rejected Israel’s proposal of to move Palestinians out of Gaza as have a number of other countries. Weighing on the minds of many is whether an agreement can be reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10. Blinken told reporters that it’s possible an agreement may be reached but stopped short of a guarantee. A source of contention on the Israeli side is that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn’t want a ceasefire because he insists on a “complete victory” over Hamas that many analysts and diplomats say is impossible. On Thursday, CIA Director Bill Burns was in Israel for more talks, according to media reports. Though the U.S. outwardly supports Israel, Biden and senior U.S. officials have called Israel’s military actions in Gaza into question and a current investigation by the Biden administration into Israel’s actions in Gaza, continues.
Photo : AA
