According to CNN, US State Secretary Antony Blinken will start meeting with important Israeli government figures on Wednesday in an effort to push for a “humanitarian pause” as domestic and international pressure on the US to put an end to the Gaza conflict grows. The latest news that the terrorist organization Hamas has submitted a response to a plan aimed at securing the release of the terrorist group’s remaining hostages and a long-term halt to hostilities in Gaza follows the meeting. CNN reports that Blinken made it clear that he will speak with Israeli officials about the counterproposal.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and, indeed, essential. And we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it,” Blinken said at a press conference in Doha on Tuesday.
The Israel ground offensive, which was launched after the Hamas attack, has taken an immense humanitarian toll on the strip, with tens of thousands dead and the population of Gaza on the brink of famine.
The attack also prompted a flurry of regional assaults by proxy groups backed by Iran, such as the Houthi against Red Sea vessels, and a deluge of militia attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria, one of which resulted in the deaths of three US service members. However, the way the Biden administration has handled the Gaza situation has angered some domestic groups, which could hurt US President Joe Biden’s political standing in an election year, according to CNN.
Moreover, US State Secretary Blinken is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and key officials in the Israeli war cabinet.
In those meetings, Blinken is expected to focus on pushing Israel toward a “humanitarian pause,” as the Biden administration calls it, as such a suspension of the fighting is central to the objectives the US is pushing for both the short and longer-term.
