Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pushing Hamas to promptly accept an 'extraordinarily generous' ceasefire proposal, saying they must describe 'quickly'.
The nation's top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia for talks after the White House continues to press Israel not to undertake what it says would be a destructive incursion into Rafah.
Israel has 'assured us that they won't go into Rafah until we've had a chance to really share our perspectives and our concerns with them,' national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC News Sunday, on a day when President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
So we'll see where that goes,' he said.
'Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,' Blinken said as he meets leaders from around the region while attending a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
![Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept an 'extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous' ceasefire proposal that would bring the return of hostages seized by Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7 attack inside Israel](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/29/15/84221803-13362803-image-a-1_1714401091316.jpg)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept an 'extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous' ceasefire proposal that would bring the return of hostages seized by Hamas fighters during the Oct. 7 attack inside Israel
'The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly,' he said.
'I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision.'
Hamas negotiators were expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal which Israel presented at the weekend.
A source briefed on the talks said Israel's proposal entailed a deal for the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel.
A second phase of a truce would consist of a 'period of sustained calm' - Israel's compromise response to a Hamas demand for a permanent ceasefire.
A total of 253 hostages were seized in a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which about 1,200 Israelis were also killed, according to Israeli counts.
The New York Times reported Monday that Israel was prepared to settled for the release of 33 hostages, amid its belief that some of the 40 individuals have died while being held since October.
![Blinken reiterated that the United States - Israel's main diplomatic supporter and weapons supplier - could not back an Israeli ground assault on Rafah if there was no plan to ensure that civilians would not be harmed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/29/16/84224471-13362803-image-a-10_1714405199221.jpg)
Blinken reiterated that the United States - Israel's main diplomatic supporter and weapons supplier - could not back an Israeli ground assault on Rafah if there was no plan to ensure that civilians would not be harmed
![Blinken attended events at the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/29/16/84224369-13362803-image-a-11_1714405203687.jpg)
Blinken attended events at the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia
Israel retaliated by imposing a total siege on Gaza and mounting an air and ground assault that has killed about 34,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Palestinians are suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine in a humanitarian crisis brought on by the offensive that has demolished much of the territory.
Blinken's comments come after Biden phoned Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the 'clear position' on a Rafah invasion.
'The President and the Prime Minister also discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza including through preparations to open new northern crossings starting this week,' according to the White House readout, in just the latest public mention of the need for measures to assist civilians in Gaza.
'The President stressed the need for this progress to be sustained and enhanced in full coordination with humanitarian organizations. The leaders discussed Rafah and the President reiterated his clear position,' according to the readout.
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who was also in Riyadh for the WEF meeting, also described the Israeli proposal as 'generous'.
It included a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners as well as Israeli hostages, he told a WEF audience.
'I hope Hamas do take this deal and frankly, all the pressure in the world and all the eyes in the world should be on them today saying 'take that deal',' Cameron said.
Cameron is among several foreign ministers in Riyadh, including from the U.S., France, Jordan and Egypt, as part of a diplomatic push to bring an end to the Gaza war.
Blinken reiterated that the United States - Israel's main diplomatic supporter and weapons supplier - could not back an Israeli ground assault on Rafah if there was no plan to ensure that civilians would not be harmed.
More than a million displaced Gaza residents are crammed into Rafah, the enclave's southernmost city, having sought refuge there from Israeli bombardments. Israel says the last Hamas fighters are holed up there and it will open an offensive to root them out soon.
Blinken also said the United States and Saudi Arabia had done 'intense work together' over the past few months towards a normalisation accord between the kingdom and Israel - a goal that has been disrupted by the Gaza war.
'To move forward with normalisation, two things will be required: calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state,' he said.
In return for normalisation, Arab states are pushing for Israel to accept a pathway to Palestinian statehood on land it captured in the 1967 Middle East war - something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah also said on Monday that an accord between Washington and Riyadh over normalization was 'very, very close'.