US puts pressure on Hamas to reach agreement with Israel and release hostages: “Extremely generous proposal”

“Hamas has an extremely generous offer in front of it from Israel. They have to make a decision and they have to make it quickly (…),” Blinken said on Monday.

The American also reiterated that his country opposes an Israeli offensive on the overpopulated city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. “We have not yet seen any plans that would convince us that citizens could actually be protected,” Blinken said.

The US Secretary of State is currently in Riyadh on his seventh visit to the Middle East since Hamas’s massive attack on Israel on October 7 and the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Blinken’s intention is, among other things, to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

“A new proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been submitted to Hamas. This includes a 40-day ceasefire in combination with the release of hostages and prisoners,” said his British Foreign Office colleague David Cameron.

Hamas has already said that it does not see any “major problem” in the proposal. “The atmosphere is positive, unless Israel puts up new obstacles,” an anonymous Hamas source told AFP.

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On Monday, Hamas held talks with Egypt and Qatar in the Egyptian capital Cairo. There the Hamas delegation will give its response to the latest counter-proposal from Tel Aviv.

According to the American news site Axios, citing Israeli officials, Israel is willing to discuss “establishing lasting calm” in Gaza.

Kill again

But as long as there is no white smoke, fighting continues. At least 27 Palestinians were killed in new Israeli attacks on the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on Monday. This was reported by the Hamas-controlled health authority. At least 20 people were killed in several attacks on residential buildings on Sunday night, according to Hamas. Seven members of one family were also killed in shelling on Monday morning.

Fall of the government

In the meantime, there is opposition from Israel to a possible truce. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has warned that he will topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if a planned military ground attack on Rafah is called off, despite Western countries’ push for a deal.

Should Netanyahu revoke the order to invade Rafah, where according to Israel there are still Hamas battalions, a government under his leadership will “no longer have a right to exist,” he says.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined Smotrich on Sunday. “This reckless deal leads to the dismantling of the government,” he said.