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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without securing any major breakthrough for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
After meetings in mediating countries Egypt and Qatar, Mr Blinken said that because Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps with the militant group, the focus turns to doing everything possible to “get Hamas on board” and ensure both sides agree to key details on implementation.
“Our message is simple. It’s clear and it’s urgent," he told reporters before leaving Qatar on Tuesday. "We need to get a ceasefire and hostage agreement over the finish line, and we need to do it now. Time is of the essence.”
Few details have been released about the so-called bridging proposal put forth by the US, Egypt and Qatar. Mr Blinken said it is “very clear on the schedule and the locations of [Israeli military] withdrawals from Gaza.”
Mr Blinken’s comments on ending his latest Israel-Hamas peace mission were notably bare of the optimism that Biden administration officials expressed going into his trip, and earlier
Hamas meanwhile said on Tuesday that the latest proposal overturns what it had agreed to, accusing the US of acquiescing to new conditions from Israel. There was no immediate US response to that.
The Palestinian group said the proposal was different from a Biden-led plan unveiled in May, indicating it was unhappy with Israel’s latest demands.
The talks come as fears of wider retaliation in the region grow following the killings of leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Iran and Lebanon, both attributed to Israel.
Mr Blinken travelled to Egypt for talks on Tuesday with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and then to Qatar.
His meetings in Egypt, which borders Gaza, and in Qatar, which hosts some Hamas leaders in exile, came a day after he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Wide gaps appeared to remain between Israel and Hamas, though angry statements often serve as pressure tactics during negotiations.
Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Mr Blinken that his country is committed to its role as a mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, along with Egypt and the US, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
In a phone call, Sheikh Mohammed stressed to Mr Blinken the importance of consolidating regional and international efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner swap deal.
During a meeting with Mr Blinken, Egypt's El Sisi warned on Tuesday of the risk of the Gaza war expanding regionally in a way "difficult to imagine" the Egyptian presidency said.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Mr Blinken discussed the latest efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza in a phone call, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry's spokesperson Oncu Keceli also said the call had taken place at the request of the US side, adding the two also discussed regional developments.
Hostage deaths
Large crowds turned out in Tel Aviv and Haifa on Tuesday to demand a ceasefire, with many carrying photos of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza.
Protesters gathered on Tel Aviv's Begin Road, blocking traffic, and at Haifa's central Sefer Square, according to the Haaretz newspaper.
The bodies of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell and Haim Perry were recovered from a tunnel in Khan Younis, according to the Israeli army.
Their relatives have criticised the government for not negotiating their release while they were still alive.
On Tuesday, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Israel "must make a deal now" after the bodies of the six hostages were retrieved.
Writing on X, Mr Lapid sent his condolences to the families of the six men, who were abducted from southern Israel on October 7.
"The days pass and we lose more and more hostages. We have to make a deal. We must. Now."
The recovery of the remains serves as a blow to Hamas as well, which hopes to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire.
Hamas is still believed to be holding about 110 hostages captured during the October 7 attacks, when militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israeli authorities estimate around a third are dead. More than 100 other hostages were released during last year's cease-fire in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,200 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The war has caused widespread destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, often multiple times. Aid groups fear the outbreak of polio and other diseases.
Continued Israeli operations
The Israeli army on Wednesday ordered civilians in a section of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in central Gaza's Deir Al Balah to move to the west.
The army's Arabic-language spokesman Col Avichay Adraee published a map showing the zones that people should leave, saying the military will "forcefully operate" against "terror" groups in the area.
"For your safety, we urge you to leave immediately to the west. The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone," he said.
The size of the humanitarian zone has shrunk amid repeated Israeli orders for displaced people to relocate.
The army said its troops are continuing operations in the areas of Tel Al Sultan in Rafah and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and in central Gaza.
It said that dozens of militants were killed, "terrorist" infrastructures were dismantled and weapons were found.
It added that its air force struck nearly 30 "terror" targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including military structures, armed terrorists, launch sites, tunnel shafts, and an observation post, in the past day.
