Blinken says 'gaps are narrowing' to reach cease-fire deal in Gaza

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said early Thursday that a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas is "very much possible' and the "gaps are narrowing" as talks in Qatar continue.

"It's getting closer. I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible," Blinken said in an interview with the Saudi Al-Hadath channel during his visit to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"We worked very hard with Qatar, with Egypt and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. We did that. Hamas wouldn't accept it. They came back with other requests, other demands. The negotiators are working on that right now. But I believe it's very much doable, and it's very much necessary," he said.

"If Hamas cares at all about the people it purports to represent, then it would reach an agreement," he added.

Such an agreement, according to Blinken, would have the "immediate effect of a cease-fire, alleviating the tremendous suffering of people, bringing more humanitarian assistance in, and then giving us the possibility of having something more lasting."

Blinken is visiting the Middle East for the sixth time since Oct. 7 as talks are ongoing to reach a temporary cease-fire agreement that includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners.

Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, where he met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to discuss the importance of an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the situation in the city of Rafah, which Israel is threatening to invade despite international warnings.

The U.S. State Department said Blinken will visit Egypt after Saudi Arabia for talks with the Egyptian leadership and will arrive in Israel on Friday.

His tour of the region coincides with the launch of new negotiations meditated by Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. to assist in reaching an agreement between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel to ensure a cease-fire and prisoner exchange.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.