OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:56 PM – Monday, April 29, 2024
The release of Israeli captives held by Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group responsible for the atrocities committed on October 7th, and an Israeli-sponsored cease-fire in the Gaza strip, were the two main points of emphasis for U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday.
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In order to provide a response to Israel’s proposed truce, Hamas negotiators were scheduled to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday.
“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” Blinken said at a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
“The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly,” he said. “I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”
According to an individual with knowledge of the negotiations, Israel’s proposal involved freeing Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel in exchange for the release of less than 40 of the approximately 130 hostages thought to be held in Gaza.
A “period of sustained calm” would be the second phase of the truce, which would be Israel’s concession to Hamas’s demand for an ongoing ceasefire.
On October 7th, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that resulted in the capture of around 253 captives and the deaths of at least 1,200.
According to a French diplomatic source, there was a convergence in the quantity of hostages freed in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Yet, challenges persisted about the truce’s extended duration.
“We’re not far off from a deal, but that’s not the first time,” the source told reporters.
Meanwhile, the Israeli approach was also deemed “generous” by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who was in Riyadh for the World Economic Forum gathering. He told the WEF audience that it featured a 40-day ceasefire in hostilities and the possible release of thousands of Palestinian captives in addition to Israeli hostages.
“I hope Hamas do take this deal, and frankly, all the pressure in the world and all the eyes in the world should be on them today, saying ‘take that deal’,” Cameron said.
Cameron was in Riyadh with a number of foreign ministers from the United States, France, Jordan, and Egypt as part of a diplomatic effort to resolve the Gaza conflict.
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