UPDATED 2:17 P.M.
TEL AVIV/CAIRO (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a bridging proposal presented by Washington designed to close disagreements to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to do the same.
Blinken spoke to journalists after a day of meetings with Israeli officials, including a 2-1/2-hour meeting with Netanyahu that Blinken described as “very constructive.” The top U.S. diplomat had said earlier that this push was probably the best and possibly last opportunity for a deal.
Talks in Qatar seeking a ceasefire and hostage return agreement last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are expected to resume this week based on the U.S. proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas.
However, with the Palestinian Islamist group announcing a resumption of suicide bombing inside Israel after many years, and medics saying Israeli military strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Monday, there are few signs of conciliation on the ground.
“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal – that he supports it,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.
“It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same, and then the parties, with the help of the mediators – the United States, Egypt and Qatar – have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they’ll implement the commitments that they’ve made under this agreement.”
DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS
Despite U.S. expressions of optimism and Netanyahu’s office describing the meeting as positive, both Israel and Hamas have signalled that any deal will be difficult.
Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of “thwarting the mediators’ efforts” and Turkey said Hamas envoys had told it that U.S. officials were “painting an overly optimistic picture”.
Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.
There are disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.
Blinken acknowledged the difficulties. “The challenge is, besides Hamas agreeing to the bridging proposal, is to make sure that there are clear understandings on how the different parties are going to make good on their commitments, how they’re actually going to implement this agreement,” he said.
“These are complex issues, but that’s also why we have expert negotiators who are working on this… Prime Minister Netanyahu committed to sending his senior expert team back to either Doha or to Egypt to try to complete this process.”
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri was dismissive of the chances that Blinken would press Netanyahu to accept a deal. “Blinken acts as if he was a minister in Netanyahu’s government,” Zuhri told Reuters.
The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since levelled swathes of the Palestinian enclave, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
US POLITICAL PRESSURE
Blinken, on his ninth trip to the region since the war began, met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu on Monday. He later met Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and is due also to visit Egypt and Qatar.
Blinken’s visit comes as U.S. President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party starting its national convention on Monday amid worries about Muslim and Arab American votes in swing states.
In Israel, families of hostages – who have staged protests urging a deal – spoke out again on Monday.
“Don’t sacrifice my daughter and the dozens of helpless hostages,” said Ayelet Levy-Shachar on Kan Radio. Her daughter Naama, 20, was captured at an army base.
Some at a protest in Tel Aviv held U.S. flags and signs saying “Hostage deal now,” “Hey Joe! Mr Biden, help us save them,” and “They have no time.”
Inside Gaza, Palestinians said they had little optimism that Blinken’s visit would bring a ceasefire.
“They are lying just to destroy us more and more. Kill us and kill our children, starve us and make us homeless. Blinken is useless, his visit will harm the Palestinian people,” said Hanan Abu Hamid, who was displaced from her home in Rafah.
The conflict has put the entire Middle East region on edge, triggering months of border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, and threatening a wider escalation drawing in major powers.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Maytaal Angel in Jerusalem, and Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ahmed Mohamed Hassan in Cairo; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Angus McDowall, Alison Williams and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Conor Humphries and Rosalba O’Brien)
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JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has cast doubt on the chances of reaching a deal since talks in Qatar last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are to resume this week based on a U.S. “bridging proposal”.
Blinken met Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday before heading into a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while in Gaza Israeli forces thrust further into Khan Younis, residents said, in the latest phase of their assault.
“This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken told reporters before meeting Herzog.
Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force, and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.
There are disagreements over Israel’s continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.
Despite U.S. expressions of optimism, both Israel and Hamas have signaled that a deal will be difficult.
Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of “thwarting the mediators efforts” and Turkey said Hamas envoys had told it that U.S. officials were “painting an overly optimistic picture”.
Netanyahu told Israel’s cabinet on Sunday that “we are conducting negotiations and not a scenario in which we just give and give,” his office said.
However, a U.S. official, asked if Hamas’ comments amounted to a rejection of the deal, said Washington believes the bridging proposal it outlined last week addresses various concerns and would iron out difficult implementation aspects.
The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since levelled swathes of Gaza, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease, and killing at least 40,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities.
The main U.N. agency in Gaza, UNRWA, said on Monday that 207 of its staff had been killed since the war began. “They were engineers, teachers, medical staff. They were humanitarian workers,” UNRWA said in a statement.
ESCALATION RISK
Blinken’s visit comes as U.S. President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party holding its national convention on Monday amid worries about Muslim and Arab-American votes in key states.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri was dismissive of the chances that Blinken would press Netanyahu to accept a deal. “Blinken acts as if he was a minister in Netanyahu’s government,” Zuhri told Reuters.
The conflict has put the entire Middle East region on edge, triggering months of border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, and threatening a wider escalation drawing in major powers.
Blinken warned against any provocations. “It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process, and so we’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations.”
Shortly after Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday, a bomb exploded near a synagogue in Tel Aviv, killing the person carrying it and injuring a passerby, Israeli police said. Hamas and close ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast.
Israel’s military said there had been more Hezbollah drone strikes on the country’s north near the frontier with Lebanon on Monday. Blinken is to meet Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after meeting Netanyahu.
In the latest Gaza fighting, Israeli military advances north of Khan Younis on Monday reached the coastal road, effectively cutting access between the city and areas to the north, residents said. They said fierce clashes could be heard.
Israel also stepped up its bombardment of Gaza City suburbs overnight, but there were no initial reports of casualties.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Maytaal Angel in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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