As we mentioned in the opening summary, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said that a long-sought ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was within sight, Ednews informs via The Guardian.

Speaking at the Aspen security forum in Colorado on Friday, he said:

I believe we’re inside the 10-yard line and driving toward the goalline in getting an agreement that would produce a ceasefire, get the hostages home and put us on a better track to trying to build lasting peace and stability.

There remains some issues that need to be resolved, that need to be negotiated. We’re in the midst of doing exactly that.
The US has been working with Qatar and Egypt to try to arrange a ceasefire in order to free hostages held since the 7 October Hamas attacks, and get more humanitarian aid into the enclave devastated by Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to travel to Washington next week and address a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday. He is expected to meet Joe Biden if the US president has recovered from Covid-19 by then, the White House has said.

Netanyahu has reportedly said Israel needed control of the Palestinian side of Gaza’s border with Egypt to stop weapons reaching. It is a condition that conflicts with Hamas’s position that Israel must withdraw from all Gaza territory after a ceasefire.

He has also said that Israel must also be allowed to keep on fighting until its war aims of destroying Hamas and bringing home all hostages are achieved.