Diplomatic Efforts for a Cease-Fire in Gaza

On Monday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced that Israel has agreed to a proposal from the Biden administration aimed at resolving some of the remaining differences with Hamas concerning a cease-fire agreement. This development comes as Mr. Blinken emphasized what he termed “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity” to negotiate a truce and secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.

Mr. Blinken’s remarks followed a nearly three-hour discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. He stated, “In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal — that he supports it.” He further added, “It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.” This statement places increased pressure on Hamas, which has described the proposal as being heavily biased in favor of Israel, although the specifics of the proposal have not been made public.

Osama Hamdan, a prominent official with Hamas, expressed his views in a televised interview on Al Jazeera, asserting that Hamas had broadly embraced a cease-fire framework initially outlined by President Biden in late May. However, he criticized Mr. Netanyahu for allegedly adding new conditions to this proposal. Hamdan claimed that Israeli representatives had not made any concessions on pivotal issues during recent discussions held in Doha, Qatar, last week.

• “If the U.S. administration was serious, we wouldn’t need more negotiations — only to implement Biden’s proposal,” Hamdan remarked.

In response, Mr. Netanyahu’s office characterized their meeting with Mr. Blinken as “positive.” The statement indicated that the Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the ongoing American proposal focused on the release of hostages, emphasizing that it must also consider Israel’s security requirements, which he firmly insists upon.