 "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani in Doha on October 24, 2024. AFP")
US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Thursday said negotiators will resume talks on the Israel-Gaza ceasefire soon as he held talks on the same with leaders in Qatar, the key mediators of the deal.
“We talked about options to capitalise on this moment and the next steps to move the process forward, and I anticipate that our negotiators will be getting together in the coming days,” Blinken said during his visit to Qatar.
After Blinken’s statement, Qatar said that US and Qatari officials would meet in Doha for Gaza truce mediation.
Israel has been facing mounting pressure to end the war after reaching a hostage and ceasefire deal following the death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar last week. Leaders have called for a ceasefire saying that Sinwar’s killing “provides an opportunity” to end the hostilities on the Gaza front.
“We’re looking at different options,” Blinken told reporters in Qatar. “We haven’t yet really determined whether Hamas is prepared to engage, but the next step is getting the negotiators together… we’ll certainly learn more in the coming days,” the US State Secretary added.
‘Mediators re-engaged after Sinwa’s death’
Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, meanwhile, said Qatari mediators have restarted meetings with the Palestinian militant group Hamas following the killing of leader Yahya Sinwar.
“We re-engaged with them. There has been an engagement with the representatives from the political office in Doha. We had some meetings with them in the last couple of days,” Al-Thani said, adding that discussions between Egypt and the Palestinian militants were also “ongoing”.
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During his meeting with Qatari leaders, Blinken also announced another $135 million in US aid for the Palestinians as he called again for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Today, we’re announcing an additional $135 million in humanitarian assistance, water sanitation, internal health for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in the region,” Blinken announced in Qatar, saying it brought the US total to $1.2 billion since the October 7 attack by Hamas last year triggered the war.
With inputs from agencies