US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Washington on Wednesday after an intense diplomatic mission in the Middle East, where his attempts to broker a Gaza ceasefire fell short.
Warning that the situation could spiral into a wider conflict, Blinken pressed both Israel and Hamas to consider a US-backed truce proposal. His visit underscored the urgency of the crisis, as he clashed publicly with Israeli officials over their future role in Gaza, signalling that time is running out to prevent further escalation.
"Time is of the essence," Blinken remarked after visiting key Arab mediators in Qatar and Egypt, as well as Israel, during his ninth trip to the region aimed at ending the war that has lasted more than 10 months. "With every passing day, more bad things can happen to more good people who don't deserve it," he added before departing from Doha.
Referring to the truce proposal, he stressed, "This needs to get done, and it needs to get done in the days ahead, and we will do everything possible to get it across the finish line."
The United States has put forward ideas to bridge the gaps, urging Hamas to return to negotiations in Cairo this week through Qatar and Egypt. However, despite Blinken's statement that Israel was on board, Israeli media later quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as disagreeing on a crucial point.
Netanyahu maintained that Israel should retain control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt, which Israeli forces seized from Hamas, who, according to Israel, uses secret tunnels to smuggle weapons.
Sticking point
Blinken said Israel had already agreed on the "schedule and location" of troop withdrawals from Gaza.
Since the conflict began, it was made "very clear that the United States does not accept any long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel", Blinken said when asked about Netanyahu's remarks.
A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, called Netanyahu's "maximalist statements" unhelpful for reaching a truce.
Blinken acknowledged differences and called for "maximum flexibility" from both Israel and Hamas.
Egypt, the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel, has been infuriated by the border takeover.
Blinken has sought to entice Netanyahu to compromise by offering Israel the prospect of greater normalisation with the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam's two holiest sites.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, meeting Blinken in El Alamein, told him "the time has come to end the ongoing war," a statement said.
Blinken then travelled to Doha to meet with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, but a US official said the Qatari ruler was feeling unwell and they would speak by phone.
Ongoing violence
Hamas on October 7 carried out the deadliest-ever attack on Israel, which has responded with a relentless offensive.
The Palestinian Islamist group said it was "keen to reach a ceasefire" but protested "new conditions" from Israel in the latest US proposal.
Air strikes occurred across Gaza overnight, AFP reporters, first responders and witnesses said. At least three people were killed, the civil defence agency said.
The Israeli military said it struck about 30 targets throughout Gaza and that troops "eliminated dozens" of militants.
Further escalating tensions, an Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon killed a Fatah official, a senior member of the Palestinian group and a security source said.
The killing of Khalil Makdah marked the first such attack reported on Fatah, a rival to Hamas, since the Gaza war broke out, and it could further complicate ceasefire talks.
Lebanon's health ministry said earlier Israeli strikes in the country's east killed one person and wounded 20, hours after four were killed in the south.
Cross-border skirmishes have taken place almost daily between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah, but fears of a greater crisis soared when Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed on a visit to Tehran on July 31.
Iran has vowed retaliation, blaming Israel for the assassination, but has held off so far, with the United States sending additional forces and warning a wider war could destroy prospects for a Gaza ceasefire.
Elsewhere in the region, a merchant vessel was struck by three projectiles off Yemen after exchanging fire with two boats, British maritime security agency UKMTO said.
There was no immediate claim for the attack, but it comes as Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi movement keeps up a campaign against international shipping that it says is in support of Gaza.
Hostage appeal
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for delays in agreeing a deal to end fighting, free Israeli hostages and allow vital humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Netanyahu has faced public protests in Israel urging him to accept a truce, which would bring back hostages whose plight has plagued Israelis.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had retrieved the bodies of six hostages from tunnels in southern Gaza, some of whom were killed in Israeli military operations.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 105 are still being held hostage inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 the military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 40,223 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
In a stark reminder of what's at stake for Netanyahu, a young Israeli woman symbolising the 251 hostages called for their swift return.
"Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it's going to be too late. We don't want to lose more people than we already lost," Noa Argamani said while visiting Japan.
(Inputs From AFP)
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