Blinken leaves the Middle East after failing to secure a breakthrough in the latest high-stakes round of ceasefire negotiations.
Top US diplomat Antony Blinken headed home on Wednesday after failing to secure a Gaza ceasefire, warning both Israel and Hamas his plan may be the last chance to avert a broader war.
The US Secretary of State appealed to Hamas to urgently accept a US-backed truce proposal, while also entering into a public spat with Israel over its future presence in the Gaza Strip.
The United States has presented ideas to bridge gaps and, through Qatar and Egypt, pressed Hamas to return to talks this week in Cairo.
But a day after Blinken said US ally Israel was on board, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by Israeli media as disagreeing on a key sticking point.
Netanyahu insisted Israel maintain control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt that Israeli forces seized from Hamas, whom Israel says relies on secret tunnels to bring in weapons.
Sticking Point
Blinken said Israel had already agreed on the “schedule and location” of troop withdrawals from Gaza.
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A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, called Netanyahu’s “maximalist statements” unhelpful for reaching a truce.
Egypt, the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel, has been infuriated by the border takeover.
Blinken sought to entice Netanyahu to compromise by offering Israel the prospect of greater normalization with the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.
Blinken then traveled to Doha to meet with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, but a US official said the Qatari ruler was feeling unwell and they would speak by phone.
Ongoing Violence
Hamas said it was “keen to reach a ceasefire” but protested “new conditions” from Israel in the latest US proposal.
Airstrikes occurred across Gaza overnight, AFP reporters, first responders and witnesses said. At least three people were killed, the civil defense agency said.
The Israeli military said it struck about 30 targets throughout Gaza and that troops “eliminated dozens” of militants.
Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for delays in agreeing to a deal to end fighting, free Israeli hostages and allow vital humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Shaun Tandon with AFP
