The US has called on Hamas to agree to a bridging proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza after it gained the backing of Israel.
Speaking after a meeting with Israel’s prime minister, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed with the proposal – which would lead to a ceasefire and see the return of Israeli hostages.
The US politician did not say whether the so-called bridging proposal addressed Israel’s demands for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza – a condition Hamas has previously called a non-starter – or other issues that have long bedevilled the negotiations.
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Mr Blinken said there were still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics.
“There is a real sense of urgency here, across the region, on the need to get this over the finish line and to do it as soon as possible. The United States is deeply committed to getting this job done,” Mr Blinken said.
“[The proposal] is the single best way not only to get the hostages home [and] to ease the suffering of people in Gaza, it is also the best way to make sure that conflict doesn’t spread, that we don’t see escalation, that we can actually defuse some of the pressure points that we see throughout the region, and then open prospects for trying to build a more enduring peace and security for everyone throughout the Middle East.”
In what Mr Blinken described as a “very constructive” meeting with Mr Netanyahu, he said the violence committed by settlers in the West Bank came up in discussions – but the secretary of state did not elaborate.
Mr Blinken added that he would also be travelling to Egypt and Qatar soon and that Israel had committed to sending an expert team to the two countries.
The US, Egypt, and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an agreement, with the talks repeatedly stalling.
The key sticking point which could collapse bridging proposal for Gaza ceasefire
Antony Blinken’s announcement is an optimistic end to a day that began with serious doubts about the potential ceasefire.
Although the details haven’t been revealed, it concerns the presence of Israeli forces in strategic parts of Gaza in the event of a deal.
Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) remain along the Philidelphi Corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt.
This was a valuable smuggling route for Hamas for years, and Netanyahu says he cannot allow Hamas a chance to re-arm if the IDF withdraws.
Israeli officials are insisting that remains their position, and so whatever the US workaround is, is intriguing, although it might involve a partial or phased pull-back and security cooperation with Egypt and a third party.
Hamas has repeatedly rejected any continued presence of the Israeli military in Gaza, even reiterating that position to Sky News in recent days.
The US, one of three mediators in the talks, is unlikely to have put forward a proposal without believing it has at least a chance of receiving approval from Hamas, but if the group sticks to its demand for a full Israeli withdrawal then the bridging proposal will quickly collapse.
The high-stakes negotiations have gained speed in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants, that Tehran has blamed on Israel.
The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war.
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Mother and her six children killed in Gaza
The secretary of state had earlier said the latest push for a deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging both sides towards agreement.
Despite US expressions of optimism and Mr Netanyahu’s office describing the meeting as positive, both Israel and Hamas have signalled that any deal will be difficult.
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Hamas accused Mr Netanyahu on Sunday of “thwarting the mediators’ efforts” and Turkey said Hamas envoys had told it that US officials were “painting an overly optimistic picture”.
The current conflict in Gaza began in the wake of 7 October last year when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since levelled swathes of Gaza, displacing the majority of its 2.1 million population, and killing at least 40,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
