Blinken says asking Arab states to 'press Hamas to say yes' to truce deal
"My message to governments throughout the region... if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes," he told reporters in Cairo, his first stop on a regional tour.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that leaders in the Middle East should press Hamas to agree to the US proposal for a Gaza truce with Israel.
"My message to governments throughout the region... if you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say yes," he told reporters in Cairo, his first stop on a regional tour.
"I believe strongly... that the overwhelming majority of people, whether they're in Israel, the West Bank, in Gaza... actually want to believe in a future where Israelis and Palestinians would live in peace and security."
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Blinken is visiting Egypt and Israel hoping to deliver the ceasefire that President Joe Biden proposed last month, in an all-out push by Washington to secure an end to the Gaza war.
Ahead of his arrival, both sides doubled down on hardline positions that have scuppered all previous attempts to end the fighting, while Israel pressed on with assaults in central and southern Gaza, among the bloodiest of the war.
