Blinken says Israel accepts Biden cease-fire proposal, calls on Hamas to do the same

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday “accepted” President Biden’s cease-fire plan that could end the 10-month war in Gaza, but whether the fighting actually stops depends on Hamas.

Speaking to reporters from Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the proposal put forward last week by the White House in coordination with leaders from Qatar and Egypt looked to “bridge the gaps” between the warring parties and has been “accepted” by Netanyahu. 

“He supports it,” Blinken said. “It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.”

“The parties – with the help of the mediators, the United States, Egypt and Qatar – have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they’ll implement the commitments that they’ve made under this agreement,” he added.

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Blinken did not give specifics on what was included in the proposal and Netanyahu has not yet formally agreed to any cease-fire at this time. 

Blinken said both Jerusalem and Hamas have “complex issues” that will “require hard decisions” before the war can truly be considered over. 

“But there is, I think, a real sense of urgency here across the region on the need to get this over the finish line and to do it as soon as possible,” Blinken added. “The United States is deeply committed to getting this job done – getting it done now.”

Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and their supporters protest near the hotel where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is staying during his visit to Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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The news that Netanyahu had “accepted” the terms put forward in the proposal came after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting between Blinken and the Israeli prime minister, as well as months of negotiations. 

The proposal is expected to include language to ensure the release of all hostages who have been held since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

It remains unclear if the proposal omitted Israeli control over strategic corridors inside Gaza, like the Philadelphi Route that runs between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and which Hamas has said is a non-starter when it comes to any peace agreement. 

IDF troops operate in the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone that runs the length of the 14-km Gaza-Egypt border. The buffer zone was created in 2006 to prevent weapons smuggling after Israel disengaged from the Strip, but Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority the following year. (TPS-IL)

Though according to a report by the Times of Israel, an official familiar with the meeting between Netanyahu and Blinken,”the Americans did not reject Israel’s strategic logic.”

The official said Israel remains firm in its position that the route is a security issue while Hamas continues to exist.

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A terrorist from Hamas takes part in a military parade. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo)

Blinken’s visit to Israel concluded his ninth trip to the Middle East since the war began, and the secretary is set to head to Egypt and Qatar in the coming days.

Concern remains heightened in the region that a greater regional war could break out amid threats from Iran and other Islamic extremist groups like Hezbollah.