WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday laid out what needs to happen during an expected six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, including the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and arrangements on governance thereafter.
Blinken gave the remarks during an interview with CNN shortly before the ceasefire-hostage deal was reached between Israel and Hamas.
"Once that happens, here's what happens," Blinken, seen in the interview footage released by CNN, said of the now materialized deal. "First, the firing stops. Hamas, Israel stop firing. Israel pulls back its forces. Hostages begin to be released. Prisoners come out of Israeli jails and go back."
"And we surge humanitarian assistance to people who so desperately need it. All of that happens during a six-week period, but also during that six weeks, we have to negotiate the understandings to get to a permanent ceasefire so that Israel pulls all of its forces out of Gaza, Hamas doesn't come back in, and there's the necessary governance, security, reconstruction arrangements so that Gaza can move forward," the secretary said.
Asked by CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour if the post-conflict arrangements had been "sorted," Blinken said in response: "That's not sorted. We've worked on it intensely for the last six or seven months — intensely but quietly with our partners, with others. I think there's some basic understandings that we've reached."
US President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks on the ceasefire-hostage deal at 2:00 pm Eastern Time from the White House, according to an update to his daily guidance issued by the White House Press Office.
