The Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal includes a detailed schedule of IDF withdrawals from Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the Israeli army must remain in strategic corridors in that enclave.
“The agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza and Israel has agreed to that,” Blinken told reporters as he continued his efforts to advance a deal in Doha, after visiting Egypt and Israel.
Egypt and Qatar, with the help of the US, have been the main mediators for the deal to secure the release of the remaining 109 hostages. The US is also hoping that this agreement would lead to an end to the Gaza war.
Blinken met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday for three hours, after which both he and the Prime Minister stated that Israel had accepted a “bridging proposal” that the US had put on the table last week in Qatar. That proposal is designed to close the gaps between Israel and Hamas with regard to the implimentation of US President Joe Biden's May 31 proposal for a deal.
Both during Blinken's visit and in its aftermath, Netanyahu insisted that the IDF must remain in two critical security corridors in Gaza; the Philadelphi and Netzarim.
On Tuesday, as the US prepared for high-level end-game talks in Cairo this week, Netanyahu said that an IDF presence in the Philadelphi Corridor must be part of that deal.
Blinken, who in Tel Aviv had appeared to indicate that the issue of the two corridors was an issue that still needed to be worked out, said in Qatar, that IDF with-drawls were clarified in the existing agreement.
Blinken comments
“It is laid out in the agreement, an agreement that Israel has endorsed, and it is specific as to the locations and the schedule for withdrawals,” Blinken said.
He reiterated that Netanyahu had endorsed “the bridging proposal,” which included a clear withdrawal schedule.
Qatar FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani affirmed to Blinken that his country is committed to its role as a mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, along with Egypt and the US, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Qatar will continue efforts and communication to end the war, the ministry said in a statement.