U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a cease-fire proposal to halt the war in Gaza and the next step is for “Hamas to say yes,” as the Biden administration looked to bring an end to the 10-month conflict at last.
Blinken, on his ninth trip to the region since Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, called the proposed accord “a bridging agreement” and acknowledged that “not everything is spelled out in detail.” But it builds on a proposal that President Joe Biden put forward in late May which both sides had balked at.
Blinken said the U.S. “will never give up,” but that each passing day increases the risk of harm to hostages and raises the chance that the talks will be derailed. Iran and Hezbollah have vowed retribution for recent assassinations that they say were the work of Israel, and Blinken’s trip was seen in part as an effort to deter such a strike.
The top U.S. diplomat said he will next travel on to Egypt and Qatar to understand what their leaders are hearing from Hamas on the next steps.
Blinken emphasized the need for an “enduring cease-fire,” a phrase that fell between Netanyahu’s past insistence on resuming the war until Hamas is destroyed and the demand of Hamas for a permanent end to the war and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
In a statement, Netanyahu described his meeting with Blinken as “good and important” and voiced appreciation for what he described as U.S. recognition, amid the truce efforts, of vital Israeli security needs.
Underscoring his top priority in a deal, Netanyahu said the maximum number of living hostages held by Hamas should go free as part of a proposed first-phase cease-fire. Dozens of people holding up photos of the hostages spent hours demonstrating outside Blinken’s hotel in Tel Aviv, using signs and chants to urge him to pressure Netanyahu to accept a deal.
Earlier Monday, Blinken met separately with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, offering condolences for the loss of life in recent terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians.
Gallant “emphasized the importance of ongoing military pressure placed by Israel on Hamas, alongside the need for ongoing U.S. political pressure on Hamas, until a framework is achieved that will enable the return of hostages to Israel,” the defense ministry said in a statement following their meeting.
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