Blinken revealed that the U.S. put forward a resolution before the United Nations Security Council that calls for an immediate ceasefire on the condition of the release of the remaining captives.

Qatar is scheduled to attend a meeting in Egypt on Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and officials from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority amid ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in the evening after meetings between Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Egyptian Director of General Intelligence Services Abbas Kamel, according to the State Department’s public schedule.

The meeting is taking place at the level of foreign ministers and comes as Blinken tours the region for the sixth time since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, as Washington scrambles for a deal in Gaza and talks over a ceasefire in Doha continue.

The top American official’s tour started in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, where he met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. 

The discussions centred on providing Gaza with humanitarian assistance and “the importance of continued close coordination with regional and international partners on resolving the conflict.”

U.S. submits resolution for Gaza ceasefire

Speaking to Al Hadath on the sidelines of his visit, Blinken said Washington is “pressing for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages.”

“It would allow a much greater expansion of humanitarian assistance getting to them, and it could create the conditions to have a lasting, enduring ceasefire, which is also what we want to see,” Blinken said.

Blinken revealed that the U.S. put forward a resolution before the United Nations Security Council that calls for an immediate ceasefire on the condition of the release of the remaining captives.

“But, of course, we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself, to make sure that October 7th never happens again, but at the same time, it’s imperative that the civilians who are in harm’s way and who are suffering so terribly,” he added.

As Israel’s main military backer, the U.S. vetoed three votes at the UNSC that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The war has entered its sixth month with Israel acting with impunity, killing nearly 32,000 Palestinians.

Experts have had their doubts over the resolution the U.S. submitted, citing its past refusal to accept a lasting ceasefire in Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Diplomatic Editor James Bays analysed the draft resolution on Thursday after obtaining a copy of the text.

“This one uses the words, ‘determines the imperative’, so it says it is important that there is a ceasefire. It is not really demanding one now and the ceasefire seems to be also directly linked to the release of the people held by Hamas and other groups in Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.

Bays added that he suspects that Washington “is trying to have this resolution ready while the talks continue in Doha.”

“The idea being that you get some sort of deal in Doha for a ceasefire and a release of the captives, and then you pass this resolution in the Security Council. That, I think, is the timing but we’ll need more clarity,” he explained.

Meanwhile, reports since the beginning of the year have pointed to a deepening rift between U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid growing frustration over Tel Aviv’s war strategy.

On Monday, President Biden and Netanyahu held their first phone call since February 15, the longest such gap in conversations between both sides since the start of the war. 

Biden and Netanyahu discussed the developments in the talks taking place in Qatar and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to a White House readout of the call.

“The President reiterated his deep concerns about the prospect of Israel conducting a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than one million displaced civilians are currently seeking shelter after fleeing fighting in the north,” the statement said.

Biden also “affirmed the need to defeat Hamas in Gaza while also protecting the civilian population and facilitating the safe and unhindered delivery of assistance throughout Gaza.”

Since Monday, Israel has carried out a deadly raid on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the largest in Gaza, attacking hundreds of medics, as well as wounded and displaced Palestinians. 

The Israeli occupation forces set fire to an entire residential square near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex on Wednesday evening, with families trapped in the area, sources told Al Jazeera.

The Qatar-based broadcaster’s correspondent in Gaza, Hani Mahmoud, said on Thursday that the Israeli forces warned displaced people inside the hospital to evacuate immediately or else it would be bombed.

Israel is also starving Gaza’s 2.2 million population by limiting the entry of aid and maintaining the complete blockade on the besieged enclave. As of Wednesday, at least 31 people, including 27 children, in Gaza have died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration, according to the local health ministry.