Blinken says there is no time to waste in reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by Qatar's Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi in Doha on August 20, 2024. © Kevin Mohatt, AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Tuesday in Qatar, the latest stop in a Middle East tour aimed at securing a Gaza truce. Blinken said there was no time to waste to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, adding that the United States, Egypt and Qatar will do everything possible to get Hamas on board with proposals to overcome disagreements blocking a deal. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.

Summary: 

• The Israeli army on Tuesday said it retrieved the bodies of six hostages from Gaza's southern district of Khan Younis in a joint operation with internal security agency Shin Bet.    
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday landed in Egypt to hold talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. The top US diplomat is set to travel to Qatar next on his latest bid to secure a Gaza truce deal.                                                                                                   
• At least 40,173 Palestinians have been killed and 92,852 wounded in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.

Yesterday's key developments: 

• Hamas's armed al-Qassam Brigades on Monday claimed responsibility for a deadly bomb blast in Tel Aviv on Sunday that killed the bomber and wounded a civilian.                                         

• Blinken described the latest diplomatic push by Washington to strike a deal between Israel and Hamas as "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" to also get the hostages home.                                                                                                                                          
• The UN denounced the "unacceptable" level of violence becoming commonplace against humanitarian workers, a record 280 of whom were killed worldwide in 2023, with the Gaza war fuelling potentially higher numbers this year.

About casualty figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry:

Gaza’s health ministry collects data from the enclave’s hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent. For more on the health ministry’s casualty figures, click here.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)