US to present Gaza proposal 'in coming days,' Blinken says

The U.S., Qatar and Egypt will present a new cease-fire proposal to Israel and Hamas in the coming days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, as the Biden administration struggles to find a way to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

The top U.S. diplomat said that 90% of the cease-fire deal had been agreed upon and that the remaining issues were Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, and how Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are exchanged.

“We’re in very active discussions, first of all, with our partners in this effort, Egypt and Qatar, and I expect in the coming days we will share with Israel, and they’ll share with Hamas, our thoughts — the three of us — on exactly how to resolve the remaining outstanding questions,” Blinken told reporters in Haiti on Thursday. “And then it will be time, really, for the parties to decide — yes or no.”

While President Joe Biden personally announced the current cease-fire framework back in May, and U.S. officials have often hinted that a deal was close, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar have so far failed to agree to the terms.

On Thursday, Netanyahu told Fox News that “Hamas is not there with a deal” and that “unfortunately, it’s not close.” The Israeli Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately have a comment Thursday night.

The Biden administration has been engaged in a long-running effort to help negotiate a cease-fire accord intended to free the remaining Israeli hostages captured Oct. 7 when Hamas — designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union — carried out an assault on southern Israel and killed 1,200 people.

The quest for a cease-fire has taken on new urgency after six Israeli hostages were found shot to death in a Gaza tunnel last weekend, spurring protests in Israel calling on Netanyahu to sign a deal.

Asked whether it was still possible for Israel and Saudi Arabia to secure a diplomatic normalization pact that was upended by the war, Blinken expressed optimism, even though just a couple months remain before the U.S. election and the pact would require a pathway to a Palestinian state — an idea Israel’s leadership has rejected.

“If we can get cease-fire in Gaza, there remains an opportunity for the balance of this administration to move forward on normalization,” Blinken added.