US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a bridging proposal presented by Washington designed to close disagreements to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to do the same.

Blinken spoke to journalists after a day of meetings with Israeli officials, including a 2-1/2-hour meeting with Netanyahu that Blinken described as “very constructive.” The top US diplomat had said earlier that this push was probably the best and possibly last opportunity for a deal.

Talks in Qatar seeking a ceasefire and hostage return agreement last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are expected to resume this week based on the US proposal to bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas.

However, with the Palestinian terrorist group announcing a resumption of suicide bombing inside Israel after many years, and ongoing Israeli military strikes across the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday, there are few signs of conciliation on the ground.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal — that he supports it,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.

“It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same, and then the parties, with the help of the mediators — the United States, Egypt, and Qatar — have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they’ll implement the commitments that they’ve made under this agreement.”

DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS

Despite US expressions of optimism and Netanyahu’s office describing the meeting as positive, both Israel and Hamas have signaled that any deal will be difficult.

Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of “thwarting the mediators’ efforts” and Turkey said Hamas envoys had told it that US officials were “painting an overly optimistic picture.”

Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.

There are disagreements over Israel‘s continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.

Blinken acknowledged the difficulties. “The challenge is, besides Hamas agreeing to the bridging proposal, is to make sure that there are clear understandings on how the different parties are going to make good on their commitments, how they’re actually going to implement this agreement,” he said.

“These are complex issues, but that’s also why we have expert negotiators who are working on this … Prime Minister Netanyahu committed to sending his senior expert team back to either Doha or to Egypt to try to complete this process.”

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri was dismissive of the chances that Blinken would press Netanyahu to accept a deal. “Blinken acts as if he was a minister in Netanyahu’s government,” Zuhri told Reuters.

The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists stormed across the border into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages.

Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign in neighboring Hamas-ruled Gaza aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling the terrorist group’s military and governing capabilities. Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza say about 40,000 Palestinians have died during the offensive, although experts have cast doubt on the reliability of casualty figures coming out of the enclave, in part because they do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

US POLITICAL PRESSURE

Blinken, on his ninth trip to the region since the war began, met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu on Monday. He later met Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is due also to visit Egypt and Qatar.

Blinken’s visit comes as US President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party starting its national convention on Monday amid worries about Muslim and Arab American votes in swing states.

In Israel, families of hostages — who have staged protests urging a deal — spoke out again on Monday.

“Don’t sacrifice my daughter and the dozens of helpless hostages,” said Ayelet Levy-Shachar on Kan Radio. Her daughter Naama, 20, was captured at an army base.

Some at a protest in Tel Aviv held US flags and signs saying “Hostage deal now,” “Hey Joe! Mr Biden, help us save them,” and “They have no time.”

Inside Gaza, Palestinians said they had little optimism that Blinken’s visit would bring a ceasefire.

“They are lying just to destroy us more and more. Kill us and kill our children, starve us and make us homeless. Blinken is useless, his visit will harm the Palestinian people,” said Hanan Abu Hamid, who was displaced from her home in Rafah.

The conflict has put the entire Middle East region on edge, triggering months of border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, and threatening a wider escalation drawing in major powers.

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