Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 16, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Blinken ‘confident’ implementation of Gaza hostage release-ceasefire to start Sunday
US President Joe Biden, alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaks about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Cross Hall of the White House on January 15, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voices confidence that the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza would begin Sunday after Israel held off on a cabinet vote and accused Hamas of backtracking.
“I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” Blinken says at a farewell news conference.
He says that he and other officials of US President Joe Biden’s administration, which ends Monday, were on the telephone to try to resolve issues in the ceasefire announced yesterday through mediator Qatar.
“It’s not exactly surprising that in a process, in a negotiation, that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end. We’re tying up that loose end as we speak,” Blinken says.
