U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar presents a “real opportunity” to achieve an agreement to free the remaining hostages still being held by the militant group in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv before flying to Saudi Arabia, Blinken said Israel has achieved a number of successes in the war against Hamas, including degrading the group’s military capabilities. The top U.S. diplomat said what remains is bringing the hostages home and bringing the war to an end.
Blinken said ending the war must be done in a way that keeps Hamas out of Gaza and ensures Israeli troops do not stay there.
Plans for a post-war Gaza, including issues such as governance, security, reconstruction and what the international community can do to aid Palestinians, will be the topic of Blinken’s discussions with Arab partners in the coming days, he said.
A week after Blinken sent a letter warning Israel to increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza or risk losing access to U.S. military aid, he said Wednesday there has been progress, but that there needs to be more and it needs to be sustained.
Blinken told reporters he issued a similar warning earlier this year, which was followed by Israel quickly facilitating an increase in aid that did not last. The threats are linked to legal obligations that U.S. humanitarian aid should not be hindered by a recipient of U.S. military aid.
Pressed on whether the new warning is an empty threat, Blinken said Wednesday: “I am determined to follow the law. I will follow the law.”
Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials Tuesday on his 11th visit to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted more than a year ago.
Netanyahu and Blinken also discussed Israel’s ongoing fighting with Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon.
The Israeli leader told Blinken was a need for a security and political change in Lebanon that would allow displaced Israelis to return safely to their homes in northern Israel.
The Blinken-Netanyahu meeting came six days after the killing of Sinwar and a little more than a week after the United States threatened to withhold some U.S. military aid without progress in delivering more assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, where the United Nations says a humanitarian crisis continues unabated.
With the U.S. presidential election two weeks away, President Joe Biden asked Blinken to return to push for progress in reaching a cease-fire in the Gaza fighting, seeing new hope after Israel’s killing of Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 250 hostages.
U.S. officials have said that Sinwar was intransigent in negotiations for a cease-fire, but no new talks have been started since his killing.
Israel’s counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 42,600 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with Israel saying that the death toll includes several thousand Hamas militants.
The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others have designated Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations.
Blinken on previous trips to the Mideast has sought to prevent the conflict from escalating into a regional war. But Israel since last month has been striking across Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran.
Miller said Blinken again called for a “diplomatic resolution” in Lebanon and compliance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006 that calls for the long-term disarmament of Hezbollah but also a withdrawal of Israeli forces from its northern neighbor.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.