US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told a World Economic Forum interview that a Gaza cease-fire proposal standing before Hamas was “extraordinarily generous.”
Blinken was speaking in Saudi Arabia ahead of a visit to Israel this week, in what will be his seventh trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war started in October.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Hamas to accept Israel’s latest proposal for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal, calling it “extraordinarily generous”.
It comes as a Hamas delegation left Cairo late on Monday following extensive discussions with Egyptian brokers.
The terms of the draft deal were not made public, but Israeli media said Israel softened its position, now seeking the release of 33 hostages, down from 40, in return for the release of some 900 Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas is believed to hold around 100 Israelis and other nationals in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian militant group will “return with a written response to the truce proposal,” according to Egyptian security sources.
“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel, and at this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and ceasefire is Hamas,” Blinken said at a World Economic Forum gathering in Riyadh.
“They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly. So, we’re looking to that, and I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic,” he added.
An Israeli delegation, composed of security officials, left on Tuesday to discuss the deal with the Egyptian brokers, Israeli media report.
Hamas has so far baulked at a series of offers negotiated by Egypt, Qatar and the US and agreed to by Israel. Even without a deal, Blinken said it was critical to improve conditions in Gaza now.
Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to invade Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip despite reports of a possible cease-fire deal with Hamas.
“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with families of Israeli soldiers, as quoted in a statement from his office.
“We have begun the evacuation of the population in Rafah. We will be there soon,” he added.
Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.
More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands of others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.
