
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with his Qatari counterpart amid efforts to reach a six-week cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in exchange for a hostage deal.
Blinken said ahead of his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the State Department that there is an "opportunity for an immediate cease-fire that can bring hostages home, that can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian assistance getting to Palestinians who so desperately need it, and can also set the conditions for an enduring resolution."
"And it is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that cease-fire," he added.
Blinken also noted that the US will continue to press Israel to maximize "every possible means" to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza and to make sure it can get to the people who need it.
Al-Thani, who is Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, said Qatar will continue to work with its partners to make the cease-fire agreement happen.
"We want to see an end to the humanitarian suffering. We want to see the hostages back with their families," he said.
In a joint statement, the two countries said Blinken and Al-Thani met as part of the sixth US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue and discussed a wide range of topics ranging from economic and security cooperation to technology.
Blinken appreciated Qatar’s mediation efforts to "facilitate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and secure the release of hostages, including US citizens, held by Hamas," according to the statement.
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