Joe Biden has said he is “optimistic” that a Gaza ceasefire deal can be reached.
“We are closer than we’ve ever been,” the US president said following the latest round of talks, adding he was sending his secretary of state to Israel to continue the “intensive efforts to conclude this agreement”.
President Joe Biden earlier Friday said that “we are closer than we have ever been” to a ceasefire in the 10-month-old Gaza war after two days of talks in the Qatari capital Doha.
Biden spoke by telephone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to discuss the “significant progress” in the talks, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said.
Biden and the two key Arab leaders had publicly urged Hamas and Israel to join the talks.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel this weekend to push forward a Gaza ceasefire deal as the United States tries to bridge the gaps in talks in the region, the State Department said.
Blinken will leave Saturday and seek to “agree to a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees through the bridging proposal” presented Friday during talks in Doha by the United States, a State Department statement said.
The White House earlier said diplomats will keep working on details with the hope of concluding the accord later next week in Cairo.
“This proposal would achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, ensure humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout Gaza, and create the conditions for broader regional stability,” the State Department statement said.
“Secretary Blinken will underscore the critical need for all parties in the region to avoid escalation or any other actions that could undermine the ability to finalize an agreement,” it said.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
