As U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Israel on Monday, marking his eighth trip since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, the U.S. administration continues to push for an agreement to ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces. According to U.S. officials, Washington has requested some of its regional allies to pressure Hamas to accept the proposal disclosed by President Joe Biden last Friday, as reported by CNN.
Officials clarified that the Biden administration urged Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to increase pressure on Hamas in various ways, from restricting the movements of its officials to threatening to expel them. They also revealed that they asked those countries to threaten to freeze the bank accounts of Hamas members and tighten their ability to travel freely in the region. Washington encouraged Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political office in its capital, to announce that it would expel the movement if it did not accept the deal, according to one U.S. official.
He mentioned that after months of warning Hamas about the dangers of refusing to reach an agreement with Israel and the possibility of expelling its officials, Qatar has now indeed issued this threat of expulsion. Amidst this pressure, some positive indications are still resonating in Washington, as a U.S. official stated that the Biden administration believes there is an opportunity to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Another source mentioned that Egypt has received encouraging signals from Hamas regarding the recent proposal, although it declined to provide specific details about those indications. It was also noted that Cairo is exerting significant pressure on the movement, stronger than before, to agree to the deal. Hamas is expected to respond to the Israeli proposal put forth by Biden in the coming days, although the movement reiterated yesterday its demand for a permanent end to the war and the complete withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip as a condition for any agreement.
