The Wall Street Journal reported, Thursday, citing American officials, that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Israeli government officials last week of the Biden administration’s belief that the conflict should end within weeks, not months. This information was provided according to the Arab World News Agency.
The American officials, who were not named by the newspaper, indicated that Israeli officials expressed to Blinken their interest in returning to normal life to avoid an economic hit to the country. However, they did not provide guarantees regarding the duration of the conflict.
According to the newspaper, one U.S. official noted that there is a general understanding that the longer the war lasts, the more difficult it becomes for everyone involved.
In a separate statement to CNN, Blinken today considered that the Palestinian group Hamas has chosen to end the hostage release process. He stated that it is now up to Hamas to decide to restart this process.
Blinken was quoted by CNN as saying, “What is clear to me, and to President Joe Biden… the choice is in the hands of Hamas. They have stopped the release of hostages. They have reneged on their commitments towards Israel and all other stakeholders.”
Simultaneously, Blinken observed that Israel is taking significant steps to provide better protection for civilians in Southern Gaza. He noted that the Israeli forces are responding to his call to operate differently in this stage of the war with Hamas compared to their actions in Northern Gaza, as reported by the American network.
