US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced on Wednesday that his country wants a truce agreement in Gaza “now,” while Israel is awaiting the response of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to the latest proposals regarding a ceasefire before sending a delegation to Cairo.

Blinken said during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv that the United States is determined to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas now that guarantees a ceasefire and the return of those he described as kidnapped to their homes.

The American minister considered that the only reason for not reaching an agreement so far is the Hamas movement.

For his part, Herzog said that the issue of Israelis detained in Gaza should be a top priority for the international community, and criticized the International Criminal Court, in light of reports indicating the possibility of issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials, who may include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as they were involved in the killing. Tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The US Secretary of State arrived in Israel to hold talks with Netanyahu and other officials after his visit to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, on his seventh tour in the region since the beginning of the war on Gaza, and it comes as part of efforts to reach a truce and prisoner exchange agreement.

Before leaving the Jordanian capital, Amman, yesterday evening, Blinken called on the Hamas movement to accept the proposed ceasefire proposal and not postpone it, saying that the movement would have no excuse for not agreeing, as he put it.

He also said that the United States is currently focusing on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip while increasing humanitarian aid.

Yesterday, US President Joe Biden, in turn, considered that the Hamas movement has now become the only obstacle to reaching an immediate ceasefire and providing relief to civilians in Gaza.

Hamas responded

Meanwhile, a senior Israeli official told Agence France-Presse yesterday that the Israeli government will wait by this evening for Hamas’ response to recent proposals to conclude a truce and exchange prisoners before sending a delegation to Cairo for talks on a ceasefire.

A delegation from the Hamas movement held talks in Cairo and then left to study the latest proposals.

Agence France-Presse quoted a Hamas source as saying that the movement is concerned with responding as quickly as possible.

In this context, the Egyptian Cairo News Channel website reported that the Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with a written response to the recent proposals.

In Israel, disagreements continue within the Israeli government and war council regarding a possible agreement that includes an exchange of prisoners.

In this context, Settlement Minister Orit Struck - who belongs to the extremist Religious Zionism Party, which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads today - said that a government that sacrifices everything in order to recover 22 or 33 detainees does not deserve to remain.

While Israel wants a truce for a few weeks, including an exchange of prisoners, and to resume its military operations after that, Hamas stresses that any agreement must lead to a cessation of the war and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.

As part of the diplomatic movement in the region, French Foreign Minister Stephane Ségournet will arrive in Cairo today, and he had called for a ceasefire during his meeting with Netanyahu yesterday.

Demonstrations in Israel

Within the framework of the protests organized by the families of Israeli prisoners detained in Gaza; To reach an exchange deal, dozens of them organized a stand today in front of the headquarters where the Israeli president met with the US Secretary of State.

The protesters carried pictures of prisoners and banners calling on the American president to stop the war and save the prisoners. They also raised banners opposing the invasion of Rafah.

Blinken met with the families of the prisoners, and the families said in a statement that the Prime Minister and the government must return the detainees now within the framework of the current deal.

Before that, dozens of Israeli families of prisoners detained in Gaza demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv to demand the conclusion of an exchange deal to release all prisoners.

Earlier, the families of the prisoners requested an urgent meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu to update on the new direction of a possible exchange deal.

Dozens also demonstrated yesterday evening in occupied Jerusalem, and the demonstrators raised slogans demanding the return of prisoners, and deplored the cancellation of the war council session that was scheduled to discuss the course of negotiations.

For its part, Israeli Channel 12 said that the police summoned family members of detainees in Gaza because of their participation in what it described as violent acts during a demonstration in Tel Aviv the day before yesterday.