Blinken calls on Hamas to accept 'very strong proposal' for cease-fire

JERUSALEM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged the Hamas group to accept a cease-fire deal proposal with Israel.

Speaking to families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza following his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, he said: "There is a very strong proposal on the table right now. Hamas needs to say yes."

He told the families that his administration "will not rest until everyone is back home."

The Hamas group is yet to comment on Blinken's statement.

He earlier met with Herzog and said the US administration is "determined" to achieve a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Hamas group.

Blinken also went on to blame the Hamas group if a cease-fire deal is not achieved.

"And the only reason that that wouldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas," Blinken said.

The top US diplomat arrived Tuesday in Israel on his third stop, after Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as part of his regional tour for talks to bring a cease-fire in Gaza.

Hamas, which is believed to be holding nearly 130 Israeli hostages, demands an end to Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza in return for any hostage deal with Tel Aviv.

A previous deal in last November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

Israel has waged an unrelenting offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.