Antony Blinken says Gaza ceasefire deal 'very close'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that a Gaza ceasefire deal is close to coming to fruition, however, may be passed on to the incoming Trump administration if it is not completed in the next two weeks.

"In the Middle East, we’re very close to a ceasefire and hostage deal" he told reporters in Paris.

Earlier this week, he also told a news conference in South Korea he is determined to have an agreement before president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

"We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks, the time we have remaining” he said, following repeated threats from Trump that “all hell will break loose" if captives held in Gaza are not released before his administration comes in.

Blinken added that if a deal is not agreed upon in the coming weeks, it will certainly be agreed on after Trump comes into office, based on the work US President Joe Biden has done.

"I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have... I believe that when we get that deal - and we'll get it - it'll be on the basis of the plan that President Biden put before the world back in May” he said.

The plan put forward in May, which was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is made up of a three-stage captive release.

According to Israeli media, mediators are currently focusing on the first phase of that deal, which includes freeing female, elderly and severely ill captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

It will also include the Israeli army partially withdrawing from Gaza and greater emergency aid allowed into the enclave.

This temporary ceasefire will last around six weeks, reports state, with Blinken and the Biden administration also discussing the post-war management of the Strip.

"There too, we’re ready to hand that over to the [Trump] administration so it can work on it and run with it when the opportunity is there" Blinken said, referring to the ‘day after’ plans.

Steve Witkoff, the incoming US envoy to the Middle East, also said on Tuesday that he will be travelling to Qatar this week, adding that a ceasefire and captive release deal is on the verge of completion.

"We’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha… I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president," he said.

Hamas has accused Israel of obstructing a deal from being agreed upon by adding new terms and undermining efforts.

Despite ceasefire discussions gaining momentum and the prospect of a deal being agreed upon seeming more likely, Israel has continued to pound the besieged enclave.

In the past day, Israel killed at least 50 Palestinians across Gaza, while attacks on hospitals also intensified.

More hospitals are shuttering due to a lack of fuel and generators are no longer working, putting patients’ lives at risk.

The UN agency UNRWA has stressed that a "ceasefire is more critical than ever" as aid dwindles, and displaced Palestinians are left in makeshift shelters in the cold.

Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday that the lives of 15 newborns in incubators are at risk amid the ongoing fuel shortages.

"Without fuel, these newborns are at risk of losing their lives," Pascale Coissard, the organisation’s emergency coordinator said.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 45,936 Palestinians and wounded over 109,274 others since 7 October 2023. The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods and plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis.