Blinken says Israel accepts Gaza proposal, urges Hamas to do same

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a "bridging proposal" presented by Washington to tackle disagreements blocking a ceasefire deal in Gaza on Monday, and urged Hamas to do the same.

Blinken spoke to journalists after a day of meetings with Israeli officials, including a 2.5-hour meeting with Netanyahu. The top U.S. diplomat had said 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 were expected to resume this week based on the U.S. proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas. 

Blinken's visit comes as U.S. President Joe Biden faces mounting election-year pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party starting its national convention on Monday amid pro-Palestinian protests and worries about Muslim and Arab American votes in swing states.

However, with the Palestinian group announcing a resumption of suicide bombing inside Israel after many years, claiming responsibility for a blast in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, 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 and fears of wider war. 

"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."

Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan criticized U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an updated proposal, saying it "raises many ambiguities" because it is "not what was presented to us nor what we agreed on."

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.

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, not temporary, ceasefire.

There are disagreements over Israel's continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.

Hamas officials accused Washington of favouring Israel.

"When Blinken says that the Israelis agreed and then the Israelis say that there is an updated proposal, this means that the Americans are subject to Israeli pressure and not the other way around. We believe that it is a manoeuvre that gives the Israelis more time," senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Reuters.

The most recent aggression in Gaza began on 7 October, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military 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.

PHILADELPHIA CORRIDOR

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 in the coming days.

Egyptian security sources said further ceasefire talks in Cairo this week were contingent on agreement over a security mechanism for the so-called Philadelphia Corridor between Egypt and Gaza. The U.S. has proposed an international presence in the area, a suggestion that could be acceptable if it was limited to a maximum of six months, the sources said. 

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.