U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken arrived in Doha on Wednesday for meetings with crucial mediator Qatar, after Hamas responded to a US-led request for a cease-fire in war-torn Gaza.
Blinken, who is on a four-country trip around the Middle East to persuade Hamas to embrace the truce agreement, will meet with the Gulf state’s top leadership, which has sent messages to the Palestinian group.
According to a source familiar with the talks, Hamas suggested revisions late on Tuesday to the plan laid out by President Joe Biden on May 31, including a cease-fire date and the entire evacuation of Israeli troops from Gaza.
According to the Biden plan, Israel would have to leave “major population centers” and there would be a six-week ceasefire that would be extended if and when negotiations result in a lasting agreement. On Tuesday, the White House announced that the US was “evaluating” the response.
In private, US officials had anticipated that Hamas would push for at least some modifications rather than instantly embracing the accord in its entirety and want to see whether there is enough agreement to work out issues with Israel.
Months ahead of an extremely close election, Biden is keen to put a stop to a conflict that has become increasingly costly for civilian casualties and alienated segments of his own Democratic Party base.
Blinken said in Israel on Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed himself to the plan, although the Israeli government, which has far-right members, has not formally endorsed it.
Blinken on Tuesday pressed Hamas’s elusive Gaza-based leader, Yahya Sinwar, to take the deal.
Blinken will meet in Doha with both the Emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also the emirate’s top diplomat, the State Department said.
Later on Wednesday, Blinken will fly to Italy to join Biden at the summit of the Group of Seven major industrial democracies.
