Blinken says Israel-Hamas talks “in final stage”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken claims that the negotiations between Israel and the Hamas group on the cessation of active hostilities are at the final stage.

Euronews writes about it.

"We continue to work intensively to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and try to prevent the spread of the conflict," he said.

Blinken added that the ceasefire talks were "in the final stages" and that the US was working with Egypt and Qatar to sign an agreement that would avoid any further fighting in the Middle East.

"Everyone in the region must understand that further attacks only perpetuate the conflict, instability, danger for all. Further attacks only increase the risk of dangerous consequences that no one can predict and no one can fully control," the state secretary said.

At the same time, mutual shelling between Israel and Hamas does not stop. In the morning, the Israeli army reported that it had attacked Hamas launchers, which they had set up near humanitarian aid warehouses in southern Gaza. It was from these installations, according to the IDF, that Hamas attacked southern Israel.

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In addition, the IDF reported a strike on a Hamas and Islamic Jihad weapons production facility located in the humanitarian zone in Deir al-Bale in the central Gaza Strip.

What preceded

In the last month, the situation in the Middle East has greatly worsened. On July 13, Israel struck the Gaza Strip, eliminating the commander of the Hamas brigade in Khan Yunis Rafa Salameh, as well as the commander of the groupʼs military wing, Muhammad Deif.

On July 27, the Lebanese group Hezbollah, supported by Iran, attacked the Golan Heights in the north of Israel. The rocket hit the football field, killing 12 children and teenagers. In response, Israel massively fired at Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

And on July 31, in Tehran (Iran), the leader of the political wing of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, who came to the inauguration of the new president of Iran Massoud Pezeshkian was killed. Hamas blames Israel, but Israel has not officially commented on this. After Haniyaʼs death, Yahya Sinwar was appointed as the new leader of the Hamas political bureau.

The media write that now Iran and Hezbollah are preparing a large-scale attack on Israel. At the same time, the States are trying to prevent escalation.

The war between Israel and Hamas

The war has been ongoing since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a massive rocket attack on southern and central Israel, invading the countryʼs territory and killing 1 195 civilians.

More than 1 200 people became victims of that attack, and more than 250 were taken hostage and taken to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip, which killed about 300 IDF soldiers.

Hamas claims that at least 39 700 Gazans were killed during the Israeli operation, and hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes. It is impossible to confirm these data, especially regarding the dead. Hamas does not separate civilians and fighters in its statistics.