INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday on another Middle East tour to push for a ceasefire in Gaza but Hamas raised
doubts about the mission just hours after he landed by accusing Israel of undermining his efforts.The Palestinian militant group said it
holds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for &thwarting the mediators& efforts&, delaying an agreement and exposing
Israeli hostages in Gaza to the same aggression faced by Palestinians.On his ninth trip to the region since the war began in October,
Blinken will meet on Monday with senior Israeli leaders including Netanyahu, a senior State Department official said.After Israel, Blinken
will continue onto Egypt.The talks to strike a deal for a truce and return of hostages held in Gaza were now at an &inflection point&, a
senior Biden administration official told reporters en route to Tel Aviv
&We think this is a critical time,& the official said.The mediating countries & Qatar, the United States and Egypt & have so far failed to
narrow enough differences to reach an agreement in months of on-off negotiations, and violence continued unabated in Gaza on Sunday.Israeli
strikes killed at least 21 people in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian health authorities said, including six children and their mother in an
airstrike on a house in the central city of Deir Al-Balah
The youngest was aged 18 months, their grandfather Mohammed Khattab told Reuters as relatives later gathered around the bodies, wrapped in
white shrouds.&What was their crime? … Did they kill a Jew? Did they shoot at the Jews? Did they launch rockets at the Jews? … What did
they do to deserve this?& asked Khattab.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military
Israel has denied targeting civilians as it hunts down Hamas militants, accusing the group of operating from civilian facilities including
Hamas denies this.The Israeli military said it destroyed rocket launchers used to hit Israel from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the
scene of intense fighting in recent weeks, and killed 20 Palestinian militants.In the occupied West Bank, where violence has escalated since
the war in Gaza broke out in October last year, an Israeli man died from wounds sustained in an attack, according to a hospital
spokesperson.The talks towards a ceasefire are set to continue this week in Cairo, following a two-day meeting in Doha last week
Blinken will try to secure a breakthrough after the U.S
put forward bridging proposals that the mediating countries believe would close gaps between the warring parties.The war erupted on Oct
7 when Hamas militants rampaged into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and seizing around 250 hostages, according to Israeli
tallies.Israel&s subsequent military campaign has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Palestinian health
authorities, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble
Israel says it has killed 17,000 Hamas combatants.There has been increased urgency to reach a ceasefire deal amid fears of escalation across
Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.Israel remained
firmly committed to principles established for its security in the May 27 outline proposals, Netanyahu&s office said in a statement
following a meeting of the cabinet.&I would like to emphasise: We are conducting negotiations and not a scenario in which we just give and
give,& Netanyahu told the meeting
&There are things we can be flexible on and… things that we cannot be flexible on, which we will insist on.&Netanyahu&s office said he
still insists Israeli forces remain on a border strip that runs between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor, in order to
prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza.It said Netanyahu would continue to work towards advancing a deal that maximizes the number of
living hostages released and allows for Israel&s war objectives to be achieved, including not allowing Hamas to retain control of Gaza.Hamas
comments were &deceptive& and accused Netanyahu of making new conditions in an attempt to &blow up& the negotiation.Disagreements include
whether Israeli troops should remain present in Gaza after the fighting ends, notably along the border with Egypt, and over checks on people
going into northern Gaza from the south which Israel says is needed to stop armed militants.Hamas has pushed for a ceasefire deal to end the
war, while Israel has not been willing to agree to go beyond a temporary pause in the fighting
& ReutersThe post Blinken arrives in Middle East seeking Gaza ceasefire first appeared on Ariana News.
