CAIRO. A senior Hamas official has called on the United States to pressure Israel to end the ongoing conflict in Gaza, coinciding with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to the region on Monday to advance ceasefire efforts.
Blinken’s visit includes stops in Egypt and Israel, with a key goal of preventing the conflict from spilling over into Lebanon. “We call upon the U.S. administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war,” stated senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri.
This marks Blinken’s eighth visit to the region since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, initiating one of the bloodiest chapters in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His itinerary also includes visits to Jordan and Qatar later in the week. Blinken is scheduled to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo before traveling to Israel, where he will hold discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Early Monday, Palestinian residents reported that Israeli tanks were attempting to advance deeper into the northern regions of Gaza, particularly targeting Shaboura, a densely populated neighborhood known as a militant stronghold. Israeli forces have seized the entire border strip with Egypt through Rafah to the Mediterranean coast and invaded numerous districts in the city of 280,000 residents, causing around one million displaced people in Rafah to seek refuge elsewhere.
Blinken’s visit follows U.S. President Joe Biden’s May 31 announcement of a three-phase ceasefire proposal from Israel. The proposal aims for a permanent end to hostilities, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
The conflict began with a Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and took approximately 250 others hostage, according to Israeli reports. In response, Israel launched a military offensive on the Gaza Strip, resulting in over 37,000 Palestinian deaths, as reported by the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory in its Sunday update.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
