Antony Blinken says Israel accepted bridging proposal for Gaza ceasefire talks, urges Hamas to do same

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps in ceasefire negotiations and urged Hamas to accept it ahead of further negotiations expected later this week, according to CNN.

Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Blinken stated, “In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal and supports it. 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 they’ve made under this agreement. But the next important step is for Hamas to say yes, and then, in the coming days, for all of the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on implementing the agreement,” he added.

Even after Blinken’s statement that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the bridging proposal, there are still significant challenges before a deal can actually be reached. Hamas has not yet agreed to the proposal. However, negotiators are still working on the specific details of how an agreement would be implemented.

The top US diplomat said they are also working to establish “clear understandings on how the different parties are going to fulfill their commitments,” according to CNN.

Before meeting Israeli officials on Monday, Blinken said the push to finalise a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza has reached a “decisive moment” as he visited Israel before traveling to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday.

In his remarks alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv before the two leaders held a meeting, Blinken stated this is “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”

He said, “It is time for everyone to get to yes and to not look for any excuses to say no.” Blinken added, “It is time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” CNN reported.

While addressing the press conference, Antony Blinken underscored the urgency of the moment, stressing that “intervening events come along that may make things even more difficult, if not impossible.” He stated, “We’ve experienced that throughout this process, so there’s the fierce urgency of now.”

Blinken and the Israeli prime minister’s office announced that Israel had agreed to the bridging proposal after a three-hour meeting between the top US diplomat and Netanyahu on Monday. The two sides termed the meeting constructive. Blinken said the Israeli PM expressed commitment to sending senior negotiators to “complete this process” in either Qatar or Egypt.

It is not clear what exactly is in the “bridging proposal.” Last week, the US put forward the proposal, with the support of Qatar and Egypt, after two days of talks in Doha. The mediators have been ramping up efforts as the Middle East braces for a possible Iranian attack on Israel and after the death toll in Gaza reportedly reached 40,000 people since the war erupted between Israel and Hamas, CNN reported.

During the press conference, Blinken said he could not “speculate on exactly what Hamas’s intentions are.” However, he expected to have more information in his talks with Egyptian and Qatari officials on Tuesday.

He said, “We’ve seen public statements, but we’ve seen public statements before that don’t fully reflect where Hamas is.”

Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday to push for a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, The Times of Israel reported. It is Blinken’s ninth visit to Tel Aviv since the war between Israel and Hamas started in October.

Shortly before Blinken arrived in Israel, Netanyahu said he was sticking to his demands, calling for more pressure on an inflexible Hamas, potentially trying to lower expectations as Washington has expressed optimism, according to The Times of Israel report.

“I want to emphasise,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting, “we are conducting negotiations [“give-and-take” in Hebrew], and not give-and-give. There are areas where we can show flexibility, and there are areas where we can’t show flexibility–and we are standing firm on them. We know quite well how to distinguish between the two.”

During the cabinet meeting, he said, “Alongside the great efforts we are making to return our abductees,” adding, “We stand firm on the principles we have established, which are essential to Israel’s security.”

On Sunday evening, Hamas said the latest proposal did not mention a permanent ceasefire and introduced new conditions on the exchange of prisoners, among other issues. It accused Netanyahu of hindering a deal from being reached and reiterated its desire to implement a three-phase proposal presented by US President Joe Biden. The group called on mediators to “compel the occupation to implement” that plan.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu said Israel will not be “giving in to Hamas’ demand” to end the war in Gaza as a condition of a deal, CNN reported.

A statement released from the Israeli PM’s office on Sunday stated, “The Prime Minister has strongly insisted on this fundamental demand, which is vital to achieving the goals of the war, and Hamas changed its position.”

“The Prime Minister will continue to work on advancing a deal that will maximise the number of living hostages and which will enable the achieving of all of the war objectives,” the statement added.