Blinken says 'time is of the essence' for Gaza truce

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Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said in Qatar on Tuesday there was no time to waste in securing a Gaza ceasefire deal, as he wrapped up a Middle East tour. "Time is of the essence" for a truce deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, Blinken told reporters at Doha airport as he prepared to fly back to Washington. "This needs to get done, and it needs to get done in the days ahead, and we will do everything possible to get it across the finish line," he said. Blinken said on Monday in Tel Aviv that Israel has accepted a proposal by the United States to bridge the gaps between the two sides and urged Hamas to follow suit. Media reports however quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying his government would insist on keeping control of the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border. Blinken, asked about Netanyahu's remarks, said that since the start of the conflict it was made "very clear that the United States does not accept any long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel." And recent talks have been "very clear on the schedule and location of IDF (army) withdrawals from Gaza, and Israel has agreed to that," Blinken said. He declined explicitly to reject Netanyahu's reported remarks, although another US official earlier said the stance was "not constructive" to closing the deal. Israel seized the Gaza Strip in 1967 and withdrew troops and settlers in 2005, although it has since maintained a crippling blockade on the Palestinian territory and imposed a siege during the current war. (AFP)