By EFE
May 1, 2024, 16:59 PM EDT
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a group of Israeli protesters stationed in front of his hotel in Tel Aviv on Wednesday that the proposal for a truce in Gaza presented to Hamas is “very intelligent” and that the Palestinian group “needs to say that Yeah”.
“Right now there is a very smart proposal on the table, Hamas needs to say yes, this needs to happen,” Blinken said, quoted by the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Blinken, who arrived in Israel last night as part of a regional tour to promote a second ceasefire – after almost seven months of war in Gaza and more than 34,500 deaths – insisted to those gathered, who carried signs asking for help for the liberation of the hostages, that the United States will not rest until the hostages return to their homes.
“We will not rest, we will not stop until you are reunited with your loved ones, so please stay strong, keep the faith, we will be with you every day until we get there,” said the Secretary of State on his seventh visit to the region since the Hamas attack on October 7.
Blinken met in Tel Aviv with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, to whom he reiterated his commitment to reaching a truce agreement “now”, and blamed Hamas if he did not achieve it, even though the Islamists have not modified their demands. initials, among them, the complete end of the war, something that could now have been transformed into a cessation that would last months.
“We are determined to achieve a ceasefire that brings the hostages home, and to achieve it now. And the only reason that wouldn’t happen would be because of Hamas. There is a proposal on the table. And as we have said, without delays, without excuses. The time is now,” Blinken said, according to a statement from the Israeli president’s spokesman.
In addition, the US Secretary of State also wanted to remember the Gazans “suffering in this crossfire caused by Hamas,” according to the statement, and assured that he was working to ensure that they have access to food, medicine, water and shelter.
Blinken met with Netanyahu, in his office in Jerusalem, to continue addressing the progress of a possible ceasefire. A response from Hamas to the latest truce counteroffer is expected in the next few hours, which would include the exchange of 33 live hostages for an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners, in addition to the return of Gazans displaced to the north.
After 208 days of war, the Gaza Strip is in a state of devastation, with 80% of its population forcibly displaced, water shortages and an extreme lack of food, which has pushed some 200,000 people to the north in the north. brink of famine, in addition to a growing proliferation of diseases.
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