Extending his sixth visit to the region since the war against Hamas started in October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading for an unscheduled stop in Tel Aviv for talks with Israel's hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US also circulated a resolution at the United Nations security council for a vote this afternoon, having vetoed previous attempts to force its Israeli allies to suspend the fighting. It declares that "an immediate and sustained ceasefire" in the war is "imperative" to protect civilians and enable aid to get through to more than two million hungry Palestinians.
Parallel negotiations to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas were progressing, Mr Blinken told Saudi Arabian TV.
The top US diplomat said that Egyptian and Qatari mediators worked with Israel to put a "strong proposal" on the table. Hamas rejected it but reverted with its own demands. "The gaps are narrowing, and an agreement is very much possible," he said.
But in Cairo last night, Mr Blinken also delivered a warning for Mr Netanyahu who remains insistent that only a ground onslaught on the teeming city of Rafah
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 22, 2024 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 22, 2024 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis