Blinken in push for Gaza peace deal

By Nathan Morley

The U.S. Secretary of State has been meeting with Israeli leaders in his push for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking in Jerusalem, Blinken insisted “the time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the ongoing war in Gaza.

Addressing relatives of hostages after talks with the Israeli president, Blinken said the onus was clearly on Hamas.

While details of the deal remain unknown, it is understood the outline involves Hamas returning 33 hostages, and Israel releasing Palestinian detainees, supplemented by a pause in fighting for forty days.

For months, Egypt, Qatar, and the United States have been aiming to negotiate a new agreement between Hamas and Israel on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages.

Israel to push ahead with assault on Rafah

As it stands, Hamas is still considering the latest Israeli proposals. Despite all this, on Tuesday Israel’s Prime Minister said an assault on Rafah would go ahead regardless of whether there was an agreement.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has again called for an immediate ceasefire, pointing to the situation in Gaza which he said was "worsening by the day."

At the same time, he stressed the serious need for humanitarian aid, especially in northern Gaza where a preventable human-made famine looms.

The Israel-Hamas conflict was ignited by the October 2023 raid in southern Israel in which Hamas operatives killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seized around 250 hostages.

Since then, the conflict has left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead, according to local health authorities.