Blinken: Sinwar has to decide whether to move forward with ceasefire

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that the new leader of Hamas Yahya Al-Sinwar "has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding a ceasefire." "I think this only underscores the fact that it is really on him to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire that manifestly will help so many Palestinians in desperate need - women, children, men who are caught in a crossfire of Hamas's making in Gaza - whether we can put Gaza and the region more broadly onto a more peaceful and secure path. "So it only emphasizes the fact that, as has been the case for some time, it really is on him," Blinken said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. "And as the President said today following his conversations with (Egyptian) President El-Sisi and with (Qatari) Amir Tamim, this is the moment. This is the decisive moment. The neg otiations have reached their final stage, and we believe strongly that they should come across the finish line very, very soon. "And that, besides changing everything for people in Gaza, bringing the hostages home, giving us an opportunity to build a more enduring peace for Gaza, also opens up other possibilities, other prospects more broadly in terms of de-escalating tensions and bringing real security and stability. That's what we're focused on, he added. Sinwar, 61, is largely seen as the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks inside Israel which left over 1,000 deaths and more than 200 Israeli hostages. On Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas named him as a replacement to its late political leader Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated on Wednesday, July 31, in Tehran. Haniyeh's death has sparked fears of Gaza war developening into a more devastating conflict in the Middle East region. It has also complicated the joint months-long efforts of Qatar, Egypt and the United States to reac h a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. Source : Kuwait News Agency