Blinken talks about a "very close" agreement in Gaza and Hamas: We made concessions to make the mediation successful

US Secretary of State Blinken said negotiators were "very close" to a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, while a Hamas official said the movement had made many concessions in order for mediation efforts to succeed.

Blinken said negotiators were "very close" to an agreement on hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

In a press conference on Wednesday on the sidelines of his visit to France, Blinken said, "We hope to accomplish it in the time we have left" of the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden, before handing over power to Trump on the 20th of this month.

The Israeli Walla website quoted a source as saying that Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer discussed the expected exchange deal in Florida with US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, amid expectations that he will head to Doha tonight to join the deal talks.

Witkov recalled previous threats made by Trump, as Israeli Channel 12 reported that he said that the repercussions would be serious if the prisoners held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip were not released, but he did not reveal the nature of these repercussions.

Witkoff considered the ambiguity to be deliberate and part of the pressure to reach a deal, stressing that it is one of President Trump's priorities before his inauguration, adding that Trump "asked me to push for a deal and he prefers diplomacy, and if it fails, the repercussions will be serious."

Earlier on Wednesday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said that technical delegations for the Gaza ceasefire negotiations are meeting regularly, whether in Doha or Cairo, and that mediation efforts are ongoing. If an agreement is reached, it will be officially announced.

Hamas: We made concessions

For his part, a Hamas official said on Wednesday that reaching an agreement with Israel depends on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to the issues of a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Hamas leader Taher al-Nunu added, "We are not far from an agreement if there is a response from Netanyahu on the issues of a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal." He pointed out, "We have made many concessions in order to make the mediation efforts for a ceasefire successful and to end the suffering of our people in the Gaza Strip."

He continued, "But every time we were confronted with Israeli intransigence, rejection and sabotage of all those efforts and a return to square one because Netanyahu wants to evade any commitments that would lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza."

Hamas stipulates that any agreement with Israel include a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, while Israel seeks to reach a partial prisoner exchange deal with Hamas without any commitment to implement the two conditions.

This comes at a time when mediators' efforts have been renewed to reach a truce between the two parties in the Qatari capital, Doha.

US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday renewed his threat to open “the gates of hell” on the Middle East if Hamas does not release Israeli prisoners held in Gaza before he arrives at the White House on January 20.

Hamas rejected Trump’s threats. “It is better for Trump to think about making mediation efforts successful and ending the war in Gaza instead of threats that will only bring more destruction and killing to our Palestinian people,” Nunu said.

Source: Agencies