Blinken's Middle East trip aims to promote a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, but achieving it in the short term still seems difficult. | WPN World People News

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine war, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made his ninth visit to the Middle East, seeking the possibility of a ceasefire. However, as he departed the region on the 20th, there remained significant divisions between Israel and Hamas, preventing a ceasefire agreement. At the airport in Qatar, Blinken stated that "time is of the essence" and that a ceasefire must be achieved as soon as possible, along with the release of Israeli hostages. Yet, there are no signs of success for this U.S.-led diplomatic ceasefire effort.

During this visit, both Egypt and Qatar cooperated with the U.S. in hopes of achieving a ceasefire for Gaza, including meetings with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss how to end the conflict. Sisi emphasized that now is a crucial moment for a ceasefire and that the Middle East conflict should not be allowed to escalate further, causing more severe consequences. He also pointed out that international recognition of Palestine as a state and the implementation of a two-state solution are essential for maintaining regional stability.

Blinken reiterated after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the 19th that the latter accepted a "transitional plan" for a ceasefire. He urged the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to also accept the plan and finalize the details as soon as possible to reach an agreement in the coming days. However, the Israeli government has neither confirmed nor denied acceptance of Blinken's "transitional plan." On the contrary, Netanyahu insisted on the 20th that Israel would retain troops in the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, which has become a major obstacle to reaching an agreement. Blinken reiterated that the U.S. opposes a long-term Israeli occupation of Gaza and advocates for a gradual withdrawal of troops after the conflict.

Since Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on October 7th of last year, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and about 250 hostages, Israel's retaliatory actions against Gaza have caused approximately 40,000 Palestinian deaths.