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Senior Qatari and US officials stressed that Israel and Hamas must reach an agreement to stop the Gaza war and prevent further escalation of the regional situation.
The United States said Hamas had proposed “additional amendments” to the ceasefire proposal, noting that some of them were feasible and others were not.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the remarks during a joint press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the Emiri Hall in Doha.
“Hamas has proposed a number of amendments to the proposals that have been put forward. We discussed these amendments last night with our Egyptian colleagues and today with the prime minister of Qatar. Some of these amendments are feasible and some are not,” Blinken told reporters in Doha.
“Israel accepted the proposal, but Hamas did not,” Blinken said, although Israel has still not officially responded.
Blinken visited Doha on Wednesday, his fourth visit since Oct. 7, a day after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad responded to Washington’s ceasefire proposal through mediators Qatar and Egypt.
exist May 31US President Joe Biden has proposed a ceasefire, including a three-phase agreement that would pave the way for a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Israeli withdrawal.
Blinken placed the blame for the failure of the deal on Hamas, and claimed that Israel had accepted the proposal despite conflicting statements from Israeli officials on the matter amid divisions among members of the government.
“The deal now on the table is almost identical to the one Hamas proposed on May 6, a deal the world supported, a deal Israel accepted, and one that Hamas can answer with one word: ‘yes,'” Blinken said.
Blinken was joined in the remarks by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed, who said mediators were still working to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas until a deal was reached.
Sheikh Mohammed noted that “in recent times, this conflict has taken a turn for the worse, with all sides making clear and firm calls” for an end to the conflict.
Blinken’s stop in Qatar is part of his eighth regional tour since the war began, following visits to Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
At Gaza humanitarian conference held at Jordan’s Dead Sea, US announces additional $404 million Providing new aid to Palestine while continuing Suspended Funds Providing assistance to the United Nations Office for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Washington, UNRWA’s largest donor, halted aid to the agency in January following unconfirmed Israeli allegations that agency staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Blinken’s regional trip comes amid an intensification of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, particularly in the southern city of Rafah and central areas.
Israel has killed more than 37,000 people since the war began. Almost all of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have been displaced.
Sheikh Mohammed highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, noting that the suffering has worsened over the past eight months.
“Unfortunately, we see a catastrophe that is deepening day by day, with increasing casualties, especially among civilians in the Gaza Strip, both children and women. There is no doubt that we need to take a clear stand and demand an end to this war,” he said.
On June 12, the United Nations listed the Israeli military as a “force that commits serious human rights violations against children in armed conflict,” a move that aroused Israel’s anger.
Asked about Washington’s views on Israel’s conduct of the war, Blinken appeared to avoid a direct response, insisting his country has its own monitoring procedures to ensure its allies do not violate humanitarian law.
“We have been looking very carefully at international humanitarian law (…) and we have processes within the U.S. government, including in my own department, to assess whether combatants in Israel or any other conflict are complying with those laws,” Blinken said.
Hezbollah and Israel cross-border attacks intensify
Meanwhile, tensions remain high in southern Lebanon due to ongoing cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.
Tensions increased on Wednesday after Hezbollah opened fire 170 rockets and missiles The sanctions were imposed on northern Israel in retaliation for the killing of the movement’s top commander, Taleb Abdullah, late Tuesday.
“If the enemy screams and groans about what is happening in northern Palestine, then let them be prepared to cry and wail,” Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said at Abdullah’s funeral.
The conflict in southern Lebanon and other parts of the region, including the Red Sea, was sparked by Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip. More than 400 people In southern Lebanon, some Other 93,000 people.
Sheikh Mohammed stressed that the region is at a critical juncture and called for an agreement to prevent an escalation in the region.
“We are at a very critical moment and we think it is very important to reach an agreement that will save innocent lives and also save the entire region that is on the brink of collapse and explosion,” said a senior Qatari official.
In 2006, Israel launched a 34-day war against Lebanon that killed 1,200 people, mostly Lebanese civilians, and ended when Hezbollah forced Israeli soldiers to withdraw after weeks of heavy attacks.
Fears of another war are growing as Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch an all-out war.
Blinken added that the United States was working to prevent new wars from breaking out, saying “no one wants to start a war or escalate the situation.”
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