Blinken says 'time is now' for Israel-Hamas deal in Gaza
Mediators are awaiting a response from Hamas to the latest proposal.
It reportedly involves a 40-day ceasefire and the release of more than 30 Israeli hostages in exchange for many more Palestinian prisoners.
“We are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas,” Mr Blinken said as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
“There is a proposal on the table, and as we’ve said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now.”
A senior Hamas official has denied the group is to blame for delays on reaching a new deal.
Families of the hostages were demonstrating outside and Mr Blinken greeted them, saying setting their loved ones free was “at the heart of everything we’re trying to do”.
About 130 hostages from among 253 kidnapped by Hamas during its unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October remain unaccounted for. At least 34 of them are presumed dead. The rest have been released or rescued.
