Ceasefire should be ‘no-brainer’ for Hamas, Blinken says

Accepting a ceasefire deal with Israel should be a "no-brainer" for Hamas, but the motivations of the fighters' elusive Gaza-based leadership remain unclear, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has announced that its delegation will return Saturday to Cairo to resume long-running talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar that would temporarily halt Israel's offensive in return for freeing hostages.

"We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the ceasefire and release of hostages," Blinken said late Friday.

"The reality in this moment is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas."

Noting that the Hamas fighters "purport to represent" the Palestinian people, Blinken said: "If it is true, then taking the ceasefire should be a no-brainer."

"But maybe something else is going on, and we'll have a better picture of that in the coming days," he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Israel. File/AP

Blinken pointed to difficulties negotiating with Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist group and does not engage with directly and which Israel has vowed to eliminate.

"The leaders of Hamas that we're indirectly engaged with — through the Qataris, through the Egyptians — are, of course, living outside of Gaza," Blinken said.

"The ultimate decision-makers are the folks who are actually in Gaza itself with whom none of us have direct contact."

Blinken was addressing the McCain Institute's Sedona Forum in Arizona days after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top leaders on his latest visit to the Middle East.

Ahead of his talks with Blinken, Netanyahu vowed to push ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah regardless of the outcome of truce negotiations.

Agence France-Presse