Blinken Criticizes Hamas for "Unworkable" Changes to Gaza Cease-Fire Plan

A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, denied that the group had put forward new ideas. The proposed deal follows an outline made public last month by President Biden. Despite efforts to reach a deal, Israel and Hamas appear to be far from reaching an agreement, with Blinken stating that the U.S. will continue to push for a truce on an urgent basis in the coming days.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been pushing for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. However, despite international efforts, neither side has accepted a US-backed cease-fire plan. According to Blinken, some of Hamas' proposals have gone beyond what they had previously accepted, but he refused to provide further details. The US-backed plan was rejected by both sides, with each blaming the other for prolonging the war that has devastated Gaza. The UN Security Council voted 14-0 in favor of the proposal, but neither Israel nor Hamas formally embraced it.