Blinken says 'lot of work to be done' before Gaza ceasefire deal

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said Wednesday that there is “a lot of work to be done” before reaching a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports.

Mediators, the US, Qatar and Egypt confirmed they have received a response by Hamas to a framework agreement for the truce and hostage-prisoner swap with Israel.

“We’re looking at it intensely,” Blinken said of the reply by the Palestinian group during his meeting with Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, according to The Times of Israel newspaper.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work and, hopefully, being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted so many months ago,” he added. Blinken also met Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

A Palestinian source told Anadolu that Hamas has proposed a 3-stage plan for a Gaza ceasefire that includes a 135-day pause in fighting in return for hostage releases.

The war in the Palestinian enclave began after the 7 October offensive by Hamas, in which some 1,200 people were killed, and around 240 taken as hostages.

However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.

About half of the hostages were released during a week-long November ceasefire, in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel’s attacks have killed more than 27,000 Palestinians, and about 85 per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced, according to the UN.

The Qatari Prime Minister, on Tuesday, said Hamas had given a “generally positive” response to the proposals for a deal to stop the fighting, and release Palestinian prisoners for the return of more hostages.

READ: Hamas proposes 3-stage ceasefire over 135 days, leading to end of war