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Blinken Urges Israel, Hamas to Agree 05/01 06:27
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders on Wednesday
in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying "the time is
now" for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly
seven months of war in Gaza.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with
Israeli leaders on Wednesday in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel
and Hamas, saying "the time is now" for an agreement that would free hostages
and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza.
He said Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to get a deal off the
ground.
Blinken is on his seventh visit to the region since the war erupted in
October in his bid to secure what's been an elusive deal between Israel and
Hamas that could avert an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza city of
Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.
The current round of talks appears to be serious, but the sides remain far
apart on one key issue -- whether the war should end as part of an emerging
deal.
"We are determined to get a cease-fire that brings the hostages home and to
get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn't be achieved is because of
Hamas," Blinken told Israel's ceremonial President Isaac Herzog at a meeting in
Tel Aviv.
"There is a proposal on the table, and as we've said, no delays, no excuses.
The time is now," he said.
Blinken said the deal would also allow much needed food, medicine and water
to get into Gaza, where the war has sparked a humanitarian crisis and displaced
much of the territory's population.
Blinken also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though no
details about the meeting were immediately available.
Earlier, after meeting with Herzog and also with families of Americans held
by Hamas at his hotel, Blinken briefly greeted several dozen demonstrators
calling for an immediate hostage release deal on the sidewalk outside.
Chanting "SOS, USA, only you can save the day" and "In Blinken we trust,
bring them home to us," the protesters urged him to make their case to
Netanyahu.
Blinken told the families that there was a very strong proposal on the table
and that Hamas needs to say yes to it. "That is our determination, and we will
not rest, we will not stop until you're reunited with your loved ones," he said.
His comments came on the last leg of his regional visit, with previous stops
in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, where he urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal,
calling it "extraordinarily generous" on Israel's part.
According to the State Department, he will also visit an Israeli port where
aid for Gaza is entering.
The United States has staunchly supported Israel's war since Hamas'
unprecedented attack on Oct. 7 into southern Israel. But it has grown
increasingly critical of the staggering toll borne by Palestinian civilians in
Gaza and has been especially outspoken against Israel's plan to invade Rafah,
Gaza's southernmost city where some 1.5 million Palestinians have fled from
fighting elsewhere in the territory.
Washington has warned Israel against any offensive that puts civilians at
risk.
Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to invade Rafah, which he says is Hamas' last
stronghold in the coastal strip, and on Tuesday he pledged to do so "with or
without" a cease-fire deal.
The current deal that is being discussed -- brokered by the U.S., Egypt and
Qatar -- would see the release of dozens of hostages in exchange for a six-week
halt in fighting as part of an initial phase, according to an Egyptian official
and Israeli media. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel would also
be released, including some serving long sentences.
But a sticking point remains over what happens next. Hamas has demanded
assurances that an eventual release of all hostages will bring a complete end
to Israel's nearly seven-month assault in Gaza and a withdrawal of its troops
from the devastated territory.
Israel has offered only an extended pause, vowing to resume its offensive
once the first phase of the deal is over. The issue has repeatedly obstructed
efforts by the mediators during months of talks.
While the talks appeared to be gaining steam, on Wednesday, an Egyptian
official said that Hamas had asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to provide
clarity on the terms of the latest cease-fire proposal being discussed, a
demand that could delay progress.
The official, who has close ties to the talks and who spoke on the condition
of anonymity in order to freely discuss the deal, said Hamas wants clear terms
for the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and to
ensure that the second stage of the deal will include discussing the gradual
and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip.
The official said the current outline didn't fully explain who would be
allowed to return north and how it would be decided.
While talks are ongoing, the fighting in Gaza continues. Late Tuesday, an
Israeli airstrike hit a house in central Rafah -- a city Israel has struck
repeatedly despite the masses that have taken refuge there -- killing at least
two children, according to hospital authorities. The bodies of the dead
children were taken to the Abu Yousef al-Najjar hospital. An Associated Press
journalist saw the bodies at the hospital morgue as their relatives mourned the
deaths.
On Wednesday, Israel's military said it was operating in central Gaza, where
it said jets struck militants, including one said to be setting up explosives.
The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the unprecedented Oct. 7 raid into
southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants are
still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local
health officials. The war has driven around 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3
million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities
and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.
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