Cairo

Hopes were dwindling Thursday for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where fighting raged despite pressure from the United States on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call to discuss ongoing efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Blinken concluded his ninth wartime tour of the Middle East.

Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken said Tuesday that "time is of the essence" to secure a Gaza truce as he wrapped up a Middle East tour with a plea for a deal.

Sources from the Israeli negotiating team accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to "blow up" the talks and obstruct reaching a hostage swap deal with Hamas, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that the Israeli government has accepted the proposal put forward by the US last week for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

While in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other officials, Blinken also called on Hamas to agree to the ceasefire.

Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken on Monday urged Israel and Hamas not to derail negotiations that he said may be a "last opportunity" to secure a Gaza truce and hostage release deal.

Blinken, on his ninth regional tour since Hamas's Oct. 7 attack triggered the war, said he was back in Israel "to get this agreement to the line and ultimately over the line."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday to advance negotiations for a potential hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, according to The Times of Israel. This marks Blinken's ninth visit since the conflict began in October.

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.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Israel on Sunday as mediators seek to cement a Gaza ceasefire deal, while a senior Hamas official dismissed "American diktats" in negotiations.

Hamas said Friday it rejected "new conditions" in a Gaza ceasefire proposal that U.S.-led mediators presented during two days of talks in Qatar.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to alleviate the suffering endured over more than 10 months of war, but U.S. President Joe Biden insisted after the latest round of talks that "we are closer than we have ever been."