Israeli strikes kill 19 in Gaza as Blinken tries to broker ceasefire – POLITICO

Blinken, along with other mediators from Egypt and Qatar, proposed an agreement on Friday that would see the release of hostages from the October 7 attack and the implementation of a ceasefire. US officials expressed confidence that the agreement could be concluded in the next few days. US President Joe Biden told reporters: “We are closer to an agreement than ever before.”

However, Hamas has rejected this assessment, telling the BBC and other media that no progress had been made and that the mediators were “selling illusions”.

Netanyahu's office expressed cautious optimism that “the strong pressure from Washington and the other mediators on Hamas will dissolve its resistance to the American proposal and lead to a breakthrough in the talks.”

The US proposal has not been made public and it is unclear which aspects Hamas cannot accept. The deal reportedly calls for a three-stage process in which Hamas will release its October 7 hostages and Israel will release Palestinian prisoners and withdraw its troops from Gaza.