Blinken visits Israel, says talks 'maybe the last' chance for Gaza truce

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Israel to push for a Gaza truce, said on Monday that ongoing negotiations were "maybe the last" chance to reach an agreement to end the war.

After arriving in Tel Aviv Sunday on his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began with Hamas's attack on Israel in Oct. 7, the top U.S. diplomat was set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog.

Blinken will then travel to Cairo on Tuesday, where ceasefire talks will resume in the coming days. Diplomats say a Gaza deal could help avert a wider conflagration, and a U.S. official speaking on customary condition of anonymity described this as "a particularly critical time." Blinken aims "to press any and all parties that it's important to get the remaining pieces of this across the finish line," said the official.

Ahead of truce talks in Qatar last Thursday and Friday, Hamas called on mediators—rather than holding more negotiations—to implement a framework outlined in late May by U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden said Sunday that a ceasefire was "still possible" and that the United States was "not giving up," in brief comments to reporters.

Following the Qatar talks between U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari mediators, the United States submitted a new compromise proposal, leading Hamas to accuse Netanyahu of obstruction on Sunday. According to Hamas, the proposal "responds to Netanyahu's conditions, especially his rejection of a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip," along with his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim junction, the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi corridor.

The latter two locations are seen by Israel as key to...