Blinken arrives in Israel to push for Gaza ceasefire as Hamas rejects US 'diktats'

NEWS WIRES

18 August 2024 at 2:01 am·1-min read

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived in Israel on Sunday, will travel to Egypt on Tuesday as part of Washington's intensifying diplomatic push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that will end the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri accused the US of trying to impose "diktats" in the negotiations.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday seeking a Gaza ceasefire deal that could help avert a wider war, while a senior Hamas official dismissed "American diktats" in negotiations.

Making his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began with Palestinian militants' October 7 attack, the secretary of state is due to meet Israeli leaders before truce talks resume in Cairo.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have said negotiations to clinch a ceasefire in the more than 10-month-old war were making progress, and US President Joe Biden said "we are closer than we have ever been".

But Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri undercut the cautious optimism, telling AFP that signs of progress after two days of talks in Doha were "an illusion".

"We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats," he said.

Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has proven unfounded.

(AFP)

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