Mr. Blinken restated his demand that Hamas embrace the proposal that President Biden presented a week and a half ago.
He alluded to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as “one guy” who was hidden “ten storeys underground in Gaza” and claimed to be the one who had to deliver the deciding vote.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, “reaffirmed his commitment” to the idea, according to Mr. Blinken, at their Monday meeting in Jerusalem.
Although Mr. Biden’s remark was based on an Israeli plan, Mr. Netanyahu has not officially accepted what Mr. Biden articulated or stated whether it matched that proposal.
Regarding Hamas’s response to a resolution that the UN Security Council voted on Monday endorsing what Mr. Biden had said, Mr. Blinken called it a “hopeful sign”.
The resolution urged Hamas to follow Israel’s lead and acknowledged that Israel had agreed with Mr. Biden’s proposal.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Hamas expressed gratitude for “what was included” in the resolution.
However, Mr. Blinken stated that the response from Hamas was inconclusive, stating that “what counts” is what the Hamas leadership in Gaza says, “and that’s what we don’t have”.
