He called on both Israel and Hamas not to derail the talks that he said may be a last opportunity to secure a Gaza truce and hostage release deal.

Blinken, on his ninth regional tour since the Oct. 7 incursion, said he was back in Israel “to get this agreement to the line and ultimately over the line.”

“This is a decisive moment – probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,” Blinken said as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

The U.S. secretary of state later met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and is due to travel on Tuesday to Cairo where ceasefire talks are expected to resume this week.

Israel and Hamas blamed each other for delays in reaching a truce accord, which diplomats say could help avert a wider conflagration in the Middle East.

“We’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places, and to greater intensity,” Blinken said.

“It is time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process.”

Months of on-off talks with U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators have failed to produce an agreement.

But the stakes have risen since the late July killings of Iran-backed militant leaders, including Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and as the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip deepened.

Ahead of talks in Qatar last week, Hamas had called on mediators, rather than holding more negotiations, to implement a framework outlined in late May by US President Joe Biden.

Biden said Sunday that a ceasefire was “still possible” and that the United States was “not giving up”, in brief comments to reporters.

Trading blame

After the Qatar meeting, the U.S. had submitted what mediators called a “bridging proposal,” which Hamas on Sunday said “responds to Netanyahu’s conditions” and includes terms that the Palestinian group would not accept.

Hamas insisted on “a permanent cease-fire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip,” saying Netanyahu wanted to keep Israeli forces at several strategic locations.

Netanyahu was “fully responsible for thwarting the efforts of the mediators,” the Palestinian movement said in a statement.

Western ally Jordan, hostage supporters protesting in Israel and Hamas itself have called for pressure on Netanyahu in order for an agreement to be reached.

On Sunday, Netanyahu reiterated a claim that Hamas “remains obstinate” and must be pressured, a day after his office said Israeli negotiators had expressed “cautious optimism” about reaching a deal.

U.S., Qatari and Egyptian mediators also reported progress.

Far-right members crucial to the prime minister’s governing coalition oppose any truce.

The Oct. 7 incursion on southern Israel killed 1,198 people and took 251 people hostage, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Out of 251 hostages, 111 are still held in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead. More than 100 were freed during a one-week truce in November.

Israel’s genocidal war, in comparison, killed at least 40,139 people, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

Source:dailysabah,com