From the Associated Press: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether it had addressed concerns cited by the militant group.
Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and was expected to travel to Egypt on Tuesday. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an agreement, with the talks repeatedly stalling.
He did not say whether the so-called bridging proposal addressed Israel’s demands for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza, which Hamas has said is a nonstarter, or other issues that have long bedeviled the negotiations.
“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal,” Blinken told reporters. “The next important step is for Hamas to say ‘yes.’”
It is uncertain whether Hamas will even accept the deal, which Blinked has pushed Israel to accept, just as the Democratic Party Convention is getting underway in Chicago.
Blinken has announced that Israel has agreed to a US-backed proposal for a ceasefire.
“The next important step is for Hamas to say yes.”https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/9fhkiluKz0
— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 19, 2024
Netanyahu announced in a post on social media, “I appreciate the understanding that the United States has shown to our vital security interests, in the course of our joint efforts to bring about the release of our hostages. And I would like to emphasize: efforts to release the maximum number of hostages alive – already in the first stage of the deal.”
אני מעריך את ההבנה שארצות-הברית גילתה לאינטרסים הביטחוניים החיוניים שלנו, תוך כדי המאמצים המשותפים שלנו להביא לשחרור חטופינו.
ואני מבקש להדגיש: מאמצים לשחרור מקסימום מספר חטופים חיים – כבר בשלב הראשון של העסקה. pic.twitter.com/0TRNXp8ces
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) August 19, 2024
Sen. Marsha Blackburn declared, “Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad worked together to bomb Tel Aviv just one hour after Secretary Blinken arrived in Israel to talk ceasefire negotiations. These violent terrorists do not want a ceasefire. They want to destroy Israel.”
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad worked together to bomb Tel Aviv just one hour after Secretary Blinken arrived in Israel to talk ceasefire negotiations.
These violent terrorists do not want a ceasefire.
They want to destroy Israel.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) August 19, 2024
BREAKING: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel accepted a proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and called on Hamas to do the same.
https://t.co/vOtu2yu5BZ— The Associated Press (@AP) August 19, 2024
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