US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said now is “probably the best, maybe the last opportunity” to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.
Mr Blinken made his comments during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday during his ninth trip to the region since the war began in October.
The US has expressed optimism about a deal since talks resumed in Doha last week, but Hamas says suggestions of progress are an “illusion”, with differences said to include whether Israeli troops will be required to withdraw fully from Gaza, as Hamas insists.
Mr Blinken is expected to maintain pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they meet later on Monday.
“We’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places, and to greater intensity,” Mr Blinken said during his meeting with Mr Herzog.
“This is my ninth visit since October 7, to Israel, to the Middle East, and this is a decisive moment, 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.”
The current negotiations are based on a modified proposal presented by the US, aimed at bridging long-standing gaps between Israel and Hamas.
The Americans hope they can get the deal over the finish line perhaps as soon as this time next week.
But that level of optimism is not shared by the Israeli leadership or Hamas.
Each accuses the other of obstinate cynicism, and blocking a deal.
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting “obstacles” in the way of an agreement and “setting new conditions and demands” with the aim of “prolonging the war”.
It added it holds him “fully responsible” for thwarting mediators’ efforts and “obstructing an agreement”.
A Hamas source earlier told Saudi media that the proposals include the IDF maintaining a reduced presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.
But Israeli sources have told the Times of Israel that other procedures along the border could compensate for an Israeli withdrawal from the area in the first phase of the deal.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A ceasefire deal agreed in November saw Hamas release 105 of the hostages in return for a week-long ceasefire and the freeing of some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel says 111 hostages are still being held, 39 of whom are presumed dead.
bbc.com