DOHA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha as he seeks to build momentum for a ceasefire in Gaza particularly after Israel’s killing of the leader of Hamas.
After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken flew to Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza war.
According to a statement by the State Department Blinken discussed renewed efforts to secure the release of the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
He later held talks with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Blinken is on his 11th trip to the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started in Gaza on October 7, 2023. So far, his efforts have failed to end the war in the Gaza Strip.
But less than two weeks before the US presidential election, President Joe Biden has found new hope after Israel assassinated Hamas’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, in Gaza.
“But I believe that with Sinwar gone because he was the primary obstacle for realising the hostage agreement, there is a real opportunity to bring them home and to accomplish the objective,” Blinken told reporters in Israel.
Earlier two Hamas sources told Western media that the group was leaning towards appointing a Doha-based leadership committee instead of an individual leader.
It is pertinent to mention that Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 384th day, has killed at least 42,847 Palestinians and injured over 100,000. Israel has also killed over 2,574 people in Lebanon since October last year.
