Blinken urges Israel to use Sinwar’s death to end Gaza war, but deal seems far away

(CNN)- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged senior Israeli officials to “use” the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to secure the release of remaining hostages in Gaza and end the war there. However, there is little evidence that any of these goals are within reach.

A senior US government official, speaking after “a series of great and fruitful talks” in Israel, said the top US diplomatic representative “discussed extensively” with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Secretary Yoav Galant. “How can they” use what is already a strategic success, and some concrete steps that can be taken now and then to do so effectively.

Blinken was dispatched to the Middle East by President Joe Biden following the death of a Hamas leader at the hands of Israeli forces last week. Even as US officials have urged the Israeli government to take advantage of the “opportunity” created by Sinwar’s death, they have played down the possibility of resuming long-stalled hostage and armistice talks.

The Israeli summary of the meeting between Netanyahu and Blinken also said they discussed “the progress of the fight against the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza and the utmost efforts being made by Israel to bring home all hostages” without conflict. Mentioned no pressure to finish early. In Gaza.

Israeli officials have given no public indication that they plan to end the war any time soon. Instead, they have continued their military campaign in northern Gaza, leaving the region in desperate need of humanitarian aid, which was a major topic of conversation during Blinken’s meeting in Israel.

There are fears of regional conflict over Blinken’s visit, which will continue to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Israel has not yet responded as expected to a ballistic missile attack by Iran earlier this month and is continuing its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The senior government official acknowledged Tuesday that the impact of Sinwar’s death on hostage negotiations remains uncertain, particularly amid uncertainty over who will then lead the group he is still believed to have led. Dozens of people have been held hostage in Gaza.

“I think the Israelis are looking at the possibility of trying to renegotiate or explore what is possible to secure the recent release of the hostages,” the official said. For Hamas in the future.

“This is something we are discussing, not only with them, but also with the Egyptian and Qatari partners. We hope that we will get more clarity on this matter in the coming days.

The official said the Israelis expressed a desire to study whether there are other ideas beyond the framework proposed by the United States earlier this year “that could be put forward that would provide some kind of basis for the release of the hostages.” Will start”. However, no details were given as to what those alternative ideas might be.

The United States will study whether Sinwar’s death represents an opportunity to revive that framework – “for which Sinwar was a major obstacle,” the official said – or whether “to seek other means to achieve the same fundamental objectives.” We have an opportunity to get everyone out, end the conflict, and increase humanitarian aid.”

The need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza was a “key topic” at Blinken’s meetings in Israel on Tuesday, following a letter to the Israeli government last week demanding they improve the situation or face possible sanctions on military aid. Face it.

The top US diplomat directly questioned Netanyahu about whether the Israeli government is pursuing a policy of deliberate starvation and killing of Palestinians who refuse to leave northern Gaza, the so-called “General’s Plan”, which has reportedly been pushed by members of the far-right. Has been publicized. The officer said, Govt.

The official said that during the meeting, Netanyahu and his top adviser Ron Dermer “committed” that this is not their policy. Blinken urged him to clarify this publicly.

“So if it is not their policy, they should make it clear. “They said this is absolutely not our policy,” the official said.

Israeli officials said the notion that “the general’s plan” is their policy is “very damaging for us”, the official said, adding that the US side urged them to “say it publicly”. However, Blinken declined to commit to whether Netanyahu planned to make a statement on the issue.

More broadly, in his meetings with senior officials, Blinken gave a “detailed account” of what was written in the letter last week.

“We heard in detail from Minister Gallant, because he was one of the recipients of the letter, about the steps he is taking to respond, but on both sides, with both the Prime Minister, the Minister (Ron ) With Dermer and with Minister Gallant, this was a central part of the discussion,” the official said.

It is noteworthy that humanitarian aid was not mentioned in the Israeli summary of the meetings with Netanyahu and Galant. Senior US administration officials did not want to talk about the exclusion of the topic in those summaries.

“Blinken said we have seen progress in some areas, but a lot still needs to be done, and more importantly, it needs to be sustained,” the senior government official said.

The official said the Israelis “recognize the seriousness with which we have expressed our concern about the current situation and are committed to responding to it and acting on the requests or priorities we have set.”

The official said Israeli officials “committed to us that they are working on our requests and making every possible effort to fulfill them.”

“We take those commitments seriously. “What matters is the results,” the official said, adding that the aid situation “has always been complex.”

“The letter states that we expect to see action and continued action on this matter within 30 days,” he said. “We are still within that 30-day period. So that’s a tight timeframe that we’re working in right now and then we’ll evaluate, you know, once we get to that point, what the path forward is.