US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to meet Monday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to try to unblock the process for a ceasefire in Gaza, even as the premier and Hamas traded blame for delays in reaching a truce accord.
After arriving in Tel Aviv Sunday on his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel in October, the top US diplomat was set to meet with Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and President Isaac Herzog.
Blinken will then travel to Cairo on Tuesday, where ceasefire talks will resume in the coming days.
Diplomats say a Gaza deal could help avert a wider conflagration, and a US official speaking on customary condition of anonymity said this is "a particularly critical time".
Blinken aims "to press any and all parties that it's important to get the remaining pieces of this across the finish line", said the official.
Speaking before his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was a "decisive moment" in Gaza ceasefire talks, describing the latest diplomatic push by Washington to strike a deal between Israel and Hamas as "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" to also get the hostages home.
Biden says Gaza ceasefire 'still possible'
US President Joe Biden said Sunday that a Gaza ceasefire remained a possibility, despite Israel and Hamas trading blame as top diplomat Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv to push a deal.
Biden told reporters after spending the weekend at his Camp David retreat that talks were still underway and that "we're not giving up," adding that an accord was "still possible."
