Blinken 'confident' Gaza ceasefire implementation to start Sunday

AFP , Thursday 16 Jan 2025

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence that a ceasefire in Gaza would begin on Sunday, after Israel delayed a cabinet vote and alleged that Hamas was backtracking on the agreement.

Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC. AFP

 

"I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday," Blinken said at a farewell news conference Thursday.

Blinken said he and other officials from the Biden administration, which ends on Monday, had been in talks to address issues in the ceasefire announced Wednesday, mediated by Qatar, the US, and Egypt.

"It's not exactly surprising that in a process, in a negotiation, that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end. We're tying up that loose end as we speak," Blinken said.

The agreement, set to take effect on Sunday, will involve the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.

Since the deal was announced, the Gaza civil defence agency said at least 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded in strikes by the Israeli military, taking the overall war death toll to 46,788.

The Gaza health ministry says at least 110,453 people have been wounded in more than 15 months of Israeli war on the territory.

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