PM tells visiting US secretary that potential truce won\u2019t forestall Rafah operation; Blinken reiterates US opposition to incursion, says Hamas \u2018standing in the way of a ceasefire\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday that he would not accept an end to the war in Gaza as part of a potential hostage deal, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe told Blinken that we are interested in reaching a deal, and determined to topple Hamas,\u201d said the official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel conveyed its latest offer to Hamas through Egyptian mediators late last week, and is expecting a response Wednesday evening, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Netanyahu also told Blinken during their meeting in Jerusalem that a hostage deal with Hamas does not mean an invasion of Rafah would be avoided, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office told The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Rafah operation does not depend on anything,\u201d said the PMO. \u201cPrime Minister Netanyahu made this clear to Secretary Blinken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Blinken \u201creiterated the United States\u2019 clear position on Rafah,\u201d said State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US readout did not say exactly what that position is, but the Biden administration has been firm in its opposition to a Rafah operation without a credible plan to evacuate civilians, even calling a move into the southern Gaza city a \u201cred line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US readout said that Blinken \u201cemphasized that it is Hamas that is standing in the way of a ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his meeting with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem earlier in the day, Blinken expressed similar sentiments, placing the blame squarely on Hamas for the failure to reach a hostage deal since November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gaza terror organization is \u201cthe only reason that that wouldn\u2019t be achieved,\u201d said the top US diplomat, who is in Israel for the seventh time since the massive Hamas attack on October 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo delays, no excuses,\u201d said Blinken. \u201cThe time is now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A report from the Lebanese news outlet al-Akhbar indicated that Israel\u2019s offer would see at least 33 hostages released in the first phase, followed by later stages that would establish a sustainable calm and possible full withdrawal of IDF troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first stage of the deal, to last 40 days, reportedly involves a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the Strip in order to allow the movement of humanitarian aid and the return of civilians to their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Prime Minister\u2019s Office declined to comment on the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that Blinken\u2019s comments blaming the terror group for a failure to reach a deal were an attempt to put pressure on it and acquit Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abu Zuhri also told Reuters that the group was still studying the recent truce offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a change of tune from recent criticism of Israeli policies, Blinken also blamed Hamas for the suffering of Gazan civilians: \u201cWe also have to be focused on people in Gaza who are suffering in this crossfire of Hamas\u2019s making, and so focused on getting them the assistance they need \u2014 the food, medicine, the water, the shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a public statement ahead of their meeting, Herzog blasted the potential issuing of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur enemies and other elements are trying to undermine the entire process by using international legal forums that were established in order to have a world order that pursues peace, and pursues the values and norms that we all believe in in the modern world,\u201d said Herzog. \u201cEspecially the efforts done at the International Criminal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIsrael has a very strong legal system, very strong adjudication and law enforcement system, and it has pursued legal steps from the highest authorities in this land [against] any other citizen,\u201d said Herzog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday evening following visits to Jordan and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The top US diplomat was set to meet Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at the Kerem Shalom Crossing and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi at Ashdod Port in the afternoon to examine humanitarian aid flowing through to Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington has intensified its pressure on Hamas to reach a deal \u2014 a message pushed by Blinken during his tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s on Hamas,\u201d Blinken told reporters in Jordan. \u201cNo more delays, no more excuses\u2026 We want to see in the coming days this agreement coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A truce is \u201cthe most effective way to relieve the suffering\u201d of civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip, he told reporters near Amman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blinken saw off a first Jordanian truck convoy of aid heading to Gaza through the Erez Crossing reopened by Israel, and urged a redoubling of the aid efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is real and important progress, but more still needs to be done,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel has drastically increased humanitarian aid to Gaza since the deadly April 1 strike on World Central Kitchen aid workers, but the situation remains dire. The vast majority of residents have fled their homes and the United Nations has warned of looming famine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A US-built floating pier on Gaza\u2019s coast is expected to be completed later this week, said Cyprus, to receive aid arriving through a \u201cmaritime corridor\u201d via the eastern Mediterranean nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blinken said the pier would \u201csignificantly increase the assistance\u201d but was not \u201ca substitute\u201d for greater overland access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza \u2014 not all of them alive \u2014 after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 34 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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