Tweet Facebook Mail US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza , and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether it had addressed concerns cited by the militant group. Blinken spoke on Monday (early Tuesday AEST) after holding a 21⁄2-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and was expected to travel to Egypt on Tuesday. The US, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an agreement, with the talks repeatedly stalling.
READ MORE: British 'king of tech' among the missing after luxury superyacht sinks US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, August 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP) Blinken did not say whether the so-called bridging proposal addressed Israel's demands for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza, which Hamas has said is a nonstarter, or other issues that have long bedevilled the negotiations. "In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal," Blinken told reporters.
"The next important step is for Hamas to say 'yes'." Blinken had earlier said the time is now to conclude a Gaza ceasefire agreement that would return hostages held by Hamas and bring relief to Palestinian suffering after more than 10 months of devastating fight.