Blinken announces Israel has accepted latest ceasefire proposal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday announced that Israel has accepted the final bridging proposal for the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but the terrorist organization still needs to accept it.

Negotiators, including the United States, have been working on a six-week ceasefire agreement that would pause the war temporarily, to allow for an exchange of prisoners on both sides and more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

Blinken, who is currently in Jerusalem to help get the agreement over the finish line, urged Hamas to accept the proposal.

“In a very constructive meeting with Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal, that he supports it,” Blinken said during a press conference. “It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.”

Hamas claimed that it has accepted an old ceasefire deal from July 2, but claimed on Sunday that new conditions were tacked on by Israel that makes it impossible for them to accept the latest proposal, according to Axios. 

Blinken rejected Hamas's characterization of the agreement, and urged Hamas to accept the bridging proposal as fast as possible. He also warned both sides against escalating the conflict.

“We’ve seen public statements before that don’t fully reflect where Hamas is,” Blinken said. “The critical next step is for Hamas to accept the bridging proposal that Prime Minister Netanyahu has now accepted, and then to engage with everyone else on making sure that we have clear understandings of how each party would actually implement the commitments that it’s undertaken in this agreement.”

The secretary is currently on his ninth trip to the Middle East, and is expected to travel to Egypt on Tuesday.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.