Blinken due in Israel as Hamas rejects U.S. 'diktats' in Gaza truce push

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken seeks Gaza ceasefire deal to avert wider war, despite Hamas dismissing "American diktats".

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken headed to Israel on Sunday (August 18, 2024) seeking a Gaza ceasefire deal that could help avert a wider war, while a senior Hamas official dismissed "American diktats" in negotiations.

Making his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began with Palestinian militants' October 7 attack, the secretary of state is due to meet Israeli leaders before truce talks resume in Cairo.

The U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators have reported progress in negotiations to clinch a ceasefire in the more than 10-month-old war, and a US official said the remaining gaps were "bridgeable".

But Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP that optimism that a deal was close after two days of talks in Doha was "an illusion".

"We are not facing a deal or real negotiations, but rather the imposing of American diktats," he said.

A framework proposal laid out by U.S. President Joe Biden in late May and later endorsed by the UN Security Council would freeze fighting for an initial six weeks as Israeli hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and humanitarian aid enters the besieged Gaza Strip.

Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has proven unfounded. But the stakes have risen since the late July killings and the quick succession of Iran-backed militant leaders, including Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened with a feared polio outbreak.