U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed that “time is of the essence” in securing a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
He stated this as he concluded his latest Middle East trip with a truce still proving elusive.
According to Mr. Blinken, Washington is exerting every effort to facilitate a deal between Israel and Hamas.
The newest proposal to end the 10-month-old battle was accepted by Israel, according to Mr. Blinken, but Hamas claimed it went too near to Israel’s demands.
“The deal 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,” Mr. Blinken explained.
The plan would involve an initial six-week ceasefire, during which a limited number of female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
It would be indefinitely extendable while negotiators settled the second stage, in which soldiers and bodies would be returned, Israeli troops would begin to withdraw from Gaza and displaced Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes in the north of the strip.
But one of the main sticking points to an agreement has been Hamas’s longstanding demand for a “complete” withdrawal of Israeli troops from all parts of Gaza, which Israel has reportedly rejected.
Both Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but Mr Netanyahu has insisted they are needed to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
Egyptian security sources said the US has proposed an international presence in the Philadelphi Corridor area, a suggestion the sources said could be acceptable to Cairo if limited to a maximum of six months.
“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah Sisi said after meeting Mr Blinken.
According to Palestinian health officials in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Israel’s military operation has killed over 40,000 people since October.
According to Israeli estimates, the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas gunmen rushed into Israeli communities and military posts, killing around 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 250 captives.
Israeli bombings in Gaza have killed at least 50 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, Palestinian health officials reported on Wednesday, as the military continued to target Hamas and capture weapons and ammunition.
The Israeli military said jets attacked approximately 30 targets in the Gaza Strip, including tunnels, launch pads, and an observation station.
It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and captured weapons including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles.
The military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting have sought shelter.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets into Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, hitting a number of homes according to first responders. Hezbollah – which, like ally Hamas, is backed by Iran – said the attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night that killed one and injured 19.