Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gaza Ceasefire Hostages topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Blinken says U.S. pushing to finalize Biden plan for Gaza ceasefire and hostage releases within two weeks
Summary
Secretary Blinken said the U.S. is working intensively to finalize a ceasefire plan for Gaza that President Biden put forward and urged Hamas to make final decisions; he said the U.N. Security Council previously voted overwhelmingly for the plan and the U.S. will work to complete an agreement in the coming two weeks.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is intensifying efforts to finalize a ceasefire and hostage-release plan for Gaza that President Biden proposed in May, and said negotiators are working to finish an agreement in the next two weeks.
Blinken said the administration had seen “reintensified engagement, including by Hamas, but we have yet to see agreement on the final points.” He said the United Nations Security Council had supported President Biden’s proposal and that the U.S. and other countries are “working very hard to bring that over the finish line. And what we've seen in the last couple of weeks is a re intensified engagement, including by Hamas, but we have yet to see, agreement on the final points.”
“We very much wanna bring this over the finish line in the next, 2 weeks,” Blinken said, adding that if negotiators do not complete an agreement in that period, he remains confident the plan will reach completion eventually. He said the plan’s goals are to secure the release of hostages, bring relief to people in Gaza and create conditions for a more secure future in the region.
Blinken said the United States and international partners will continue to press for final decisions by Hamas to complete the agreement and stressed the importance of international consensus around the Biden plan.
