'Last opportunity to...': Antony Blinken urges Israel and Hamas to seize ceasefire opportunity

Blinken calls for urgent ceasefire (X: StateDept)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has emphasised the critical nature of ongoing negotiations to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas. Speaking during his ninth regional tour since Hamas's October 7 attack, Blinken described the current moment as a 'last opportunity' for achieving a Gaza ceasefire and securing the release of hostages.

Blinken, in Tel Aviv to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, stressed, "This is a decisive moment—probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security." He further stated that his mission is to advance the agreement “to the line and ultimately over the line.”

Following his meeting with Herzog, Blinken also conferred with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. He is scheduled to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, where ceasefire discussions are expected to continue.

Israel and Hamas blamed each other for delays in reaching a truce accord, which diplomats say could help avert a wider conflagration in the Middle East.

"We're working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places, and to greater intensity," Blinken said.

"It is time for it to get done. It's also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process."

Months of on-off talks with US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have failed to produce an agreement.

But the stakes have risen since the late July killings of Iran-backed militant leaders, including Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and as the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip deepened.

Ahead of talks in Qatar last week, Hamas had called on mediators, rather than holding more negotiations, to implement a framework outlined in late May by US 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.

Trading blame

After the Qatar meeting, the United States had submitted what mediators called a "bridging proposal", which Hamas on Sunday said "responds to Netanyahu's conditions" and includes terms that the Palestinian group would not accept.

Hamas insisted on "a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip", saying Netanyahu wanted to keep Israeli forces at several strategic locations.

Netanyahu was "fully responsible for thwarting the efforts of the mediators", the Palestinian movement said in a statement.

Western ally Jordan, hostage supporters protesting in Israel, and Hamas itself have called for pressure on Netanyahu for an agreement to be reached.

On Sunday Netanyahu reiterated that Hamas "remains obstinate" and must be pressured, a day after his office said Israeli negotiators had expressed "cautious optimism" about reaching a deal.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators also reported progress.

Far-right members crucial to the prime minister's governing coalition oppose any truce.

The October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 40,139 people, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.

Out of 251 hostages seized during Hamas's attack, 111 are still held in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. More than 100 were freed during a one-week truce in November.

Tel Aviv blast

The plan announced by Biden at the end of May would freeze fighting for an initial six weeks as Israeli hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and humanitarian aid enters Gaza.

As efforts towards a long-sought ceasefire continued, so did the violence in Gaza but also along the Israel-Lebanon border where Israeli forces and Hamas's Iran-backed ally Hezbollah have traded near-daily fire throughout the war.

Hezbollah announced on Monday two of its fighters were killed and claimed attacks on troops and military positions in northern Israel, including with drones.

The Israeli military said its forces struck Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon.

In southern Gaza, a medical source told AFP three people were killed in Abassan village and witnesses reported Israeli air strikes near the Islamic University in Khan Yunis.

The military said troops were operating in southern and central Gaza, and that the air force "struck over 45 terrorist targets" across the territory over the past day.

A funeral was held in Khan Yunis for Gazan photojournalist Ibrahim Muhareb, who was killed on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said. He was laid to rest with his "PRESS" vest placed over his body.

The Committee to Protect Journalists advocacy group has said more than 100 Palestinian media workers have been killed by Israeli forces during the war.

The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have battled Israeli forces together in Gaza, claimed joint responsibility for a blast in Tel Aviv late Sunday that killed the bomber and wounded one person.

The groups threatened to carry out more such attacks in Israel "as long as the occupation's massacres, the displacement of civilians and the policy of assassinations continue".

Reuters reported that Hamas has announced a return to suicide bombings inside Israel after several years. Meanwhile, ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Gaza indicate little progress toward reconciliation.

Escalation Risk

Blinken's visit comes as U.S. President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party holding its national convention on Monday amid worries about Muslim and Arab-American votes in swing states.

Reuters quoted senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri who was dismissive of the chances that Blinken would press Netanyahu to accept a deal. "Blinken acts as if he was a minister in Netanyahu's government," Zuhri told Reuters.

Families of Israeli hostages, who have staged protests urging a deal, spoke out again on Monday. "Don't sacrifice my daughter and the dozens of helpless hostages," said Ayelet Levy-Shachar on Kan Radio. Her daughter Naama, 20, was captured at an army base.

Inside Gaza, Palestinians said they had little optimism that Blinken's visit would bring a ceasefire.

"They are lying just to destroy us more and more. Kill us and kill our children, starve us and make us homeless. Blinken is useless, his visit will harm the Palestinian people," said Hanan Abu Hamid, who was displaced from her home in Rafah.

The conflict has put the entire Middle East region on edge, triggering months of border clashes between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, and threatening a wider escalation drawing in major powers.

Blinken warned against any provocations. "It's also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process, and so we're working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations."

(Inputs From Agencies)