(22 Mar 2024)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4484540
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cairo, Egypt - 21 March 2024
1. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving at news conference
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State:
++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY WHITE FLASH++
"A major military operation in Rafah would be a mistake, something we don't support and it's also not necessary to deal with Hamas, which is necessary. We're going to have an opportunity next week to share in detail that view with our Israeli counterparts and to lay out our views on how to deal with the problem differently."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State:
"There's clear consensus around a number of shared priorities. First, the need for an immediate sustained cease-fire with the release of hostages. That would create space to surge more humanitarian assistance to relieve the suffering of many people and to build something more enduring. We've been working, as you know, with Egypt, with Qatar and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. Hamas responded to that, negotiators continue to work, the gaps are narrowing and we're continuing to push for an agreement in Doha. There's still difficult work to get there, but I continue to believe it's possible."
STORYLINE:
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday a major Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be “a mistake” and “unnecessary” to defeating Hamas, underscoring the further souring of relations between the United States and Israel.
Blinken, on his sixth urgent Mideast mission since the war began in October, spoke after huddling with top Arab diplomats in Cairo for discussions over efforts for a cease-fire and over ideas for Gaza's post-conflict future.
He said an “immediate, sustained cease-fire” with the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas was urgently needed and that gaps were narrowing in indirect negotiations that U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent weeks mediating.
Those negotiations are to continue at a senior level in Qatar on Friday.
Blinken heads to Israel on Friday to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.
The growing disagreements between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden over the prosecution of the war will likely overshadow those talks — particularly over Netanyahu's determination to launch a ground assault on Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge from devastating Israeli ground and air strikes further north.
AP video by Ahmed Hatem
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