Blinken on his way as Hamas weighs initial hostage deal
‘WSJ’: Hamas leaders abroad want more
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to the region this week as Hamas weighs a framework proposal on principled points for a deal to release over 130 hostages held in Gaza for almost five months.
“The secretary will continue diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages and includes a humanitarian pause that will allow for sustained, increased delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” the State Department said.
It described a trip that would include stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and the West Bank. Blinken just met in Washington last week with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, whose country, along with Egypt, is mediating a deal.
In advance of the trip, Blinken on Friday also spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Blinken “reiterated the importance of securing a humanitarian pause that includes the release of hostages held by Hamas.”
His trip, which follows one he made to the region in January, is part of a flurry of diplomatic activity following a high-level meeting in Paris last week of intelligence chiefs from the US, Israel, and Egypt, with the participation of Thani.
A framework proposal for the principled points of a deal, but not the agreement itself, was reached at that meeting, which has been approved by the war cabinet.
Israel is now waiting for Hamas to issue a similar approval.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that there is a disagreement between Hamas in Gaza headed by
Yahya Sinwar, which wants to accept the proposal that speaks of a pause to the war and Hamas leaders abroad, who want to hold out for a permanent ceasefire, a demand which Israel has rejected.
On Saturday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency chief Ibrahim Kalin, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT.
Kalin and Haniyeh discussed efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli hostages held in the enclave, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, TRT said.
Speaking at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore on Thursday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said it could take a few weeks before any final deal is agreed upon during a question and answer session with students at the university.
He explained that at the Paris meeting of intelligence chiefs, all the suggestions on the table had been consolidated into one proposal, which he confirmed had been approved by Israel.
It represents “a general understanding of how the next parts of the coming humanitarian pause would look like. It does not include a lot of the details that still need to be discussed,” he stated.
“There is still a tough road in front of us,” Ansari said, adding that it was a very “fluid situation.”
At the United Nations headquarters in New York, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said, “We have been working tirelessly with Qatar, Egypt, and other regional partners on a strong, compelling proposal.
“Our engagement is the best opportunity to reunite all hostages with their families. …It would enable a prolonged humanitarian pause, longer than the one we saw in November, allowing for more lifesaving food, water, fuel, and medicines to get into the hands of Palestinian civilians who desperately need it.
“If accepted and implemented, this proposal would move all parties one step closer to creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” she said.
It’s largely expected that
the deal that would be worked out would involve three phases, which would include a lull in the fighting and the release of Palestinian security prisoners from Israeli jails, including those with blood on their hands.
Even in advance of any final deal, members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have already threatened to quit the government if they don’t like the deal, while on the streets Israelis demanded a deal now, even if it involves a high price.
Separately Blinken is also expected to discuss Gaza plans for the day after the war, including the possibility of reviving a Saudi security pact with the US that would involve a normalization deal with Israel.
The State Department said that while Blinken was in the region he would “continue discussions with partners on how to establish a more integrated, peaceful region that includes lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Reuters contributed to this report •
American forces,” Austin said.
An Iraqi government statement said the areas bombed by US aircraft included places where Iraqi security forces are stationed near civilian locations. It said 23 people had been wounded in addition to the 16 killed.
The White House said the United States had informed Iraq ahead of strikes. Baghdad later accused the United States of deception, saying a US claim of coordination with the Iraqi authorities was “unfounded.”
On Friday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said his country will not start a war, but it will “respond strongly” to anyone who bullies it. He did not mention the US strikes in a speech on Saturday marking Iran’s space technology day.
Iran’s ambassador in Damascus Hossein Akbari, in comments reported by the semi-official Fars news agency, played down the airstrikes, denying Iran-linked targets were hit and saying the aim was “to destroy Syria’s civil infrastructure.”
Hamas said Washington was pouring “oil on the fire.”
Britain called the United States its “steadfast” ally and said it supports Washington’s right to respond to attacks.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, arriving for an EU meeting in Brussels, said the US strikes were the result of Iranian proxies “playing with fire.”
The strikes hit targets including command and control centers, rockets, missiles, and drone storage facilities, as well as logistics and munition supply chain facilities, the US military said.
In Iraq, residents said several strikes hit the Sikak Neighborhood in Al-Qaim, a residential area that locals said was also used by armed groups to store large amounts of weapons. Terrorists had left the area and gone into hiding in the days since the Jordan attack, local sources said.
Khaled Walid, a Sikak resident, said that the US strikes and secondary explosions of munitions stored in the neighborhood had widespread damage.
US troops have been attacked over 160 times in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan since October 7, usually with a mix of rockets and one-way attack drones, prompting the United States to mount several retaliatory attacks even before the latest strikes.
The United States has assessed that the drone that killed the three soldiers and wounded more than 40 other people in Jordan was made by Iran, US officials have told Reuters.
“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” Biden said.
The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker, criticized Biden for failing to impose a high enough cost on Iran, and taking too long to respond.
Iranian advisers assist armed groups in both Iraq, where the United States has around 2,500 troops, and Syria, where it has 900. • caused
is not interested in discussing the Red Sea, while Jordan put out a statement making it clear that it was not involved in the US strikes in Iraq and Syria.
“The Royal Jordanian Air Force did not participate in the air strikes carried out by the US Air Force inside Iraqi territory,” the Jordanian military said. “There is no truth to the press reports about the participation of Jordanian aircraft in the operations carried out by US forces inside Iraq. The Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army respects the sovereignty of Iraq. The statement underscores the depth of relations that unite Jordan with all Arab countries,” the statement read.
In the UAE, Al-Ain media likely reflects Gulf thinking when it reports that the US strikes were part of the “rules of engagement” and that there was a lot of “noise” in the strikes, but no major escalation is likely to result.
IRAN’S STATEMENTS about the strikes portray the US as ultimately on the losing end of this encounter. Iran believes that, in the long term, the US is slowly withdrawing from the region. It has been read as the policy goal of the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.
This likely emboldened Iran and its proxies to go for broke when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. The degree of Iran’s involvement in planning that massacre is still unclear, but within days, Iran had mobilized Hezbollah, the Houthis, and militias in Iraq and Syria to carry out attacks.
Therefore, it’s clear that Iran believed that the October 7 attack was a turning point. This was a “crossover” point for Iran, beyond which it believes it will increasingly achieve victory in numerous arenas in the region.
Al-Mayadeen media, which is pro-Iran, quotes the Al-Nujaba militia in Iraq as saying they will respond to the US attacks. Hezbollah slammed the US strikes, claiming Washington was escalating the wars
in the region. This is ironic, since it is Iran’s proxies, including Hezbollah and Nujaba, that are responsible for most of the problems in the region. Pro-Iran groups have already claimed to target US forces since the attacks, illustrating they are not deterred.
Iran has shown over the last several years that it can operationalize its militias to carry out hundreds of attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria and that those militias generally emerge unscathed. In general, the Iranian militias continue to be strengthened, and Iran believes it holds a winning hand.
Iran wants to get political parties in Iraq to demand that the US leave. As such, Iran gets militias in Iraq to target US forces, even in Jordan, and then, when the Americans respond, Iraq claims this is a violation of its “sovereignty.”
This is a lose-lose situation for the US. If the US responds more strongly, it will be accused of “escalating” the situation. Iran will then use the “escalation” as an excuse for more attacks. Iran also uses militias, so it has plausible deniability. Any attacks on Iran itself would be an “escalation” as well.
The US response to the January 27 attack, like the responses to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, has not yet deterred the Iranian-backed groups. •
territory toward the areas of Mount Dov, Even Menachem, and Yir’on. There were no casualties, and Israeli forces attacked the sources of the shooting.
Earlier in the day, Israeli fighter jets struck several targets in southern Lebanon, successfully destroying Hezbollah infrastructure.
During the operation, the IDF struck two military outposts near the towns of Marwahin and Ayta ash Shab.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron visited Lebanon on Thursday. “The UK is working to help preserve stability in Lebanon and prevent a damaging regional escalation,” Cameron said after his visit.
British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell said, after Cameron’s visit, that “the situation across the Blue Line is fragile, and an escalation in violence is not in anyone’s interests. In his meetings, the foreign secretary stressed the need for a cessation of hostilities and implementation of UNSCR 1701. This is critical if we are to see a long-term solution for peace.” •
of his closeness and affection, “particularly (those) consumed by anguish, pain, fear and even anger,” repeating his call for the end of the war.
Francis said he prayed for peace. “My heart is close to you, to the Holy Land, to all the peoples who inhabit it, Israelis and Palestinians, and I pray that the desire for peace may prevail in all.” •