Blinken says Gaza agreement '90 percent ready', still opportunity for Saudi normalisation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday it was incumbent on both Israel and Hamas to say yes on remaining issues to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, which has faced obstacles in negotiations across months.

"Based on what I have seen, 90 percent is agreed but there are a few critical issues that remain," including the so-called Philadelphi corridor on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, Blinken said at a press briefing in Haiti.

He said there were also some gaps in the agreement in how Israeli and Palestinian captives are exchanged.

"I expect in the coming days, we will share with Israel, and they (Qatar and Egypt) will share with Hamas our thoughts, the three of us, on exactly how to resolve remaining outstanding questions," Blinken said, referring to the US and mediators Qatar and Egypt.

President Joe Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal on May 31, but since then gaps have remained on a final agreement for a ceasefire and release of captives in Gaza.

Hamas has rejected any Israeli presence in the Philadelphi corridor, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not abandon the corridor.

A senior unnamed US official said on Wednesday that Netanyahu's public statements have complicated efforts to reach a deal, describing his remarks on the Philadelphi corridor as making things "difficult".

"I’ve never been involved in a negotiation where every day there’s a public statement about the details of negotiation. It makes it difficult. The less that is said about particular issues, the better," he said, in comments aired by Israeli media.

Earlier this week, amid rising pressures at home, Netanyahu held a press conference to present his plans for Gaza which envisages leaving troops in the north of the strip to "dismantle Hamas infrastructure" while blocking the return of residents.

In addition to a military presence along the Egypt border, Netanyahu proposed a third split between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis which would also be controlled by Israel.

Hamas has rejected Israel's additional demand which was not part of the original May ceasefire plan proposed by Biden which the Palestinians agreed to then.

The recent negotiations in Doha have largely been focussed on this point as well as finalising the number of Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for the 101 hostages in Gaza.

This week, Turkey, five Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, and the Palestinian Authority joined Egypt in rejecting Israel's demand to keep its troops deployed in the Philadelphi corridor.

Asked whether it was still possible for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalise relations, Blinken said "there remains an opportunity" to do that if a ceasefire was achieved in Gaza.

The latest conflict was triggered October when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has since killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

(Reuters)