U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Hamas terror group to accept the latest proposal for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Israel on Monday, speaking following meetings with senior officials in Jerusalem.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it. It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same,” said Blinken.

“What I would say to Hamas and to its leadership is: If it genuinely cares about the Palestinian people that it purports to somehow represent, then it will say yes to this agreement, and it will work on clear understandings on how to implement it,” he told reporters.

“The single quickest, best, most effective way to relieve the terrible suffering of the Palestinians that was instigated by Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7 and the war that ensued is to complete this agreement,” he added.

 

‘Sense of urgency’

According to Blinken, there is a “real sense of urgency” in Israel and across the Middle East on the need to “get this over the finish line.”

The Biden administration is “deeply committed to getting this job done, and getting it done now,” he said, adding that, “from here, I’m going to Egypt and Qatar, and these are our two critical partners in this effort to get the ceasefire agreement over the finish line, to get the hostages home, to put everyone on a better path to lasting peace and security.

“With every passing day that there’s not an agreement, two things can happen: One is, of course, more hostages can perish, and second, intervening events come along that may make things even more difficult, if not impossible,” Blinken stated, in an apparent reference to ongoing terrorist attacks and Iranian threats to strike the Jewish state.

“What is most crucial now is that everyone—everyone—refrain from taking any actions that could fuel further conflict, escalate tensions and result in the spreading of violence and conflict,” the diplomat warned.

Blinken touched down in Israel on Sunday night, amid another push to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Jerusalem and Hamas.

The visit—Blinken’s ninth trip to Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of some 1,200 people—comes amid ongoing talks in Qatar to secure the release of 115 captives still held in Gaza after more than 300 days.

The top U.S. diplomat also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other senior officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

According to a readout from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Jerusalem viewed the private meeting between Netanyahu and Blinken on Monday morning as “positive and held in a good atmosphere.”

“The meeting lasted approximately three hours. The prime minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the release of our hostages, which takes into account Israel’s security needs, which he strongly insists on,” Netanyahu’s office said in the statement.

In another statement issued as Blinken addressed the press, Netanyahu stressed that his government seeks to release as many living hostages as possible already in the first stage of a potential agreement with Hamas.

“I had a good and important meeting today with Secretary of State Blinken. I greatly appreciate the efforts that the U.S. is making in regional defense against the Iranian axis. This is important, of course, for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a video. “I also greatly appreciate the understanding that the U.S. has shown for our vital security interests as part of our joint efforts to bring about the release of our hostages.”

 

On Sunday, Hamas formally rejected the so-called “bridging proposal” presented by the U.S., accusing Jerusalem of “setting new conditions and demands with the aim of thwarting the mediators’ efforts.”

“The new proposal responds to Netanyahu’s conditions, especially with regards to his refusal to stop the war and fully withdraw from Gaza,” the statement continued. “We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for blocking an agreement and fully responsible for the lives of his prisoners,” Hamas said about the 115 hostages it holds in Gaza after 316 days.

The terror organization again stressed that it would only agree to a deal that includes an end to the war and a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, as it outlined in its July 2 response to mediators.

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