Hamas official urges US to pressure Israel to end war

YEREVAN, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS. A senior Hamas official urges the United States to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza, ahead of the planned visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region to push forward hostage-ceasefire deal efforts, the Times of Israel reports.

“We call upon the US 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,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Blinken is set to visit Egypt and Israel today. US Secretary of State is set to meet with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before traveling to Israel later today, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to a US State Department schedule. He is also set to travel to Jordan and Qatar.

It is Blinken’s eighth visit to the region since Hamas attacked Israeli territory last Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel in response launched a military assault on Gaza that has since killed over 37,000 people, according to health officials in the territory.