TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas was still possible, despite the two sides being far apart on the central terms for a deal.
Blinken was in the region trying to broker an arrangement that could bring some respite in Israel’s war against Hamas, which is entering its fifth month after killing more than 27,000 Palestinians, displacing much of the territory’s population and sparking a humanitarian catastrophe.
Those diplomatic efforts were rattled earlier in the day when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a detailed, three-phase plan by Hamas that would unfold over 4 1/2 months. The plan stipulated that all hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including senior militants, and an end to the war.
Netanyahu, who called Hamas’ plan “delusional,” dismissed any proposal that leaves the militant group in full or partial control of Gaza. Netanyahu said military pressure was the best way to free the roughly 100 hostages held in the Gaza Strip, where they were taken after Hamas’ cross-border rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7, which sparked the war.
Israel has made destroying Hamas’ governing and military abilities one of its wartime objectives, and Hamas’ proposal would effectively leave it in power in Gaza and allow it to rebuild its military capabilities.
But Blinken downplayed the posturing, saying it was part of the arduous negotiating process. “It’s not flipping a light switch. It’s not yes or no,” he said.
“While there are some clear non-starters in Hamas’ response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached, and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there,” he said.
Blinken is trying to advance the cease-fire talks while pushing for a larger postwar settlement in which Saudi Arabia…