U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to media at the David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza.
He called on Hamas to do the same. Blinken on Tuesday was on his ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began more than 10 months ago. He did not say whether the “bridging proposal” addressed concerns cited by Hamas. Even if the militant group accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement,” Blinken said. He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics. Blinken is traveling to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday for further negotiations after meetings in Israel on Monday. His visit came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism that a deal was close. His trip also came amid fears the conflict could widen into a deeper regional war following the killings of top militant commanders in Lebanon that Iran blamed on Israel.JERUSALEM — The bodies of two hostages were returned from the Gaza Strip, the communal farm they lived on announced Tuesday. Kibbutz Nirim said that the bodies of Yagev Buchshtav and Nadav Popplewell had been returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight. The kibbutz did not provide additional information and the Israeli military did not immediately confirm the information. Israeli media reported that the two men — along with Avraham Munder, whose death his kibbutz announced Tuesday — were part of a larger military hostage extraction operation overnight. Popplewell was declared dead by the Israeli military in June. Hamas said in May that Popplewell had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike. Israel’s military announced Buchshtav’s death in July. The men were taken hostage by militants who stormed the border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. About 110 hostages kidnapped that day remain in the strip. About a third of them are believed to be dead. Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.JERUSALEM — Another male hostage has died in Hamas captivity, his communal farming village announced Tuesday. Kibbutz Nir Oz said that Avraham Munder had been killed while held hostage in Gaza “after enduring months of physical and mental torture.” It was not clear from the statement whether his body had been recovered. Israel’s military did not immediately confirm the information. Of some 110 hostages remaining in Gaza who were captured in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, around 40 are believed to be dead, their bodies held in Gaza. The kibbutz remembered Munder for his “clear voice, warm smile, and boundless love for his family and the kibbutz.” Militants kidnapped Munder on Oct. 7 when they stormed Nir Oz, dragging some 80 of its residents back to Gaza. Munder’s wife, daughter, and grandson were also taken hostage, but released during a brief cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. His son was killed on Oct. 7. In total, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, across southern Israel and took about 250 hostages back to Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. UN chief calls for ‘constructive dialogue’ as a former Israeli ambassador to the UN returns to the post UNITED NATIONS – From the early days of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan attacked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, accusing him of being “an accomplice to terrorism” and calling for his resignation.However, Danny Danon, who served as Israel’s U.N. ambassador from 2015-2020 and presented his credentials to the secretary-general on Monday, made clear he would be following in Erdan’s footsteps when it comes to Israel’s views about the United Nations. Danon said he’s returning to the U.N. at a time of “immense challenges” for Israel and its people, saying 115 Israelis are still being held hostage in Gaza and face “ongoing atrocities and suffering.” “I am committed to represent my country to show the real face of Israel, and to push back the lies and the hypocrisy that we unfortunately have to deal with here at this building,” he said. Neither the U.N. Security Council nor the General Assembly have condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war, though Guterres has repeatedly called for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages. He has also criticized the killing of over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including many women and children, mainly in Israeli airstrikes, as well as Israel’s obstruction to humanitarian aid deliveries. For his part, Guterres said that “for the U.N., it is extremely important to have an objective relationship with Israel.” “We have different points of view in many aspects in relation to the two-state solution, in relation to what has been happening recently,” Guterres said, “but that doesn’t mean that we should not have a constructive dialogue based on truth.”BEIRUT — The Israeli army said it hit “a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities” in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley Monday night.Videos from the scene showed a large fire and multiple explosions following the initial strike. “Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities struck,” the Israeli army statement said. A spokesperson for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the strike. A similar scene took place last month after an Israeli airstrike on the southern coastal village of Adloun hit an arms depot, setting off a series of explosions that hit nearby villages with shrapnel.BURKE, Vt. — Two bouts of flooding from storms in July has hampered businesses and destinations in an economically depressed section of northern Vermont, with some still closed as they continue to repair damage and others urging visitors, who were deterred by the weather, to make the trip. Kingdom Trails, a popular destination for SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — This school year, Illinois will become just the fifth state in the nation to prohibit corporal punishment in all schools. Legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law this month bans physical punishment in private schools while reiterating a prohibition on the practice in public schools implemented 30 years ago. When JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola catapulted to office in 2022 with a campaign that emphasized civility in politics. She became the first Alaska Native in Congress and the first Democrat in 50 years to hold the state’s only House seat. But in her reelection bid, she is finding some of the Israel’s demand for lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza, which Hamas has long rejected, threatens to unravel cease-fire talks aimed at ending the 10-month-old war, freeing scores of hostages and preventing an even wider conflict. Officials close to the negotiations have said Israel wants to maintain a military presence in a narrow buffer Barack Obama was days shy of his 43rd birthday and months from being elected to the U.S. Senate when he stepped onto a Boston stage at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. A state lawmaker from Illinois, he had an unusual profile to be a headline speaker at a presidential convention. But the self-declared “skinny kid CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention heads into its second day on Tuesday. With President Joe Biden having addressed delegates, the week’s full focus now turns to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the party and its leaders aim to argue why their new nominee is best ‘Expanding your family:’ Washington Make-A-Wish seeks volunteers amid record numbers Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington is on track for a record number of wishes, however, to do that it will need help from volunteers.Sounds of scratching, gnawing or rustling in your home at night could be signs it could be time to call pest control.A local nonprofit is working to protect those driving on I-90 but they can't do it without help from the community.Seattle scholarship celebrates LGBTQ+ community Founded in 1991, the GSBA Scholarship & Education Fund, with the help of Carter Subaru, has invested almost $6 million in 552 scholars.
Sports Weather Traffic Talk And Community. Home Mynorthwest.Com
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Israel-Hamas war latest: Hamas chooses Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar as their new leaderThe Palestinian militant group Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar as its new leader after Ismail Haniyeh was killed by a presumed Israeli strike.
Read more »
Live blog: Hamas not to 'derail' Gaza truce push: Blinken tells IsraelIsrael's war on Gaza, now in its 318th day, has killed at least 40,099 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 92,609 others, a conservative estimate, with 10,000+ estimated to be buried under debris of bombed homes.
Read more »
Blinken: Now is the time to secure Israel-Hamas ceasefirePolitical News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government
Read more »
Blinken says Israel has accepted U.S. bridging proposal, calls on Hamas to do the sameAntony Blinken returns to Israel at a 'decisive moment' amid negotiations to secure a cease-fire with Hamas and avert a wider war.
Read more »
Blinken says Israel accepts Biden cease-fire proposal, calls on Hamas to do the sameSecretary of State Blinken says Israel has accepted a cease-fire proposal put forward by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, though the fighting can only end if Hamas too agrees to the deal.
Read more »
Hamas challenges Blinken's Gaza truce claim, says US buying time for IsraelPalestinian resistance group says it is losing faith in Washington as mediator, accusing American negotiators of siding with Israel as hawkish Netanyahu makes new changes to original Biden-approved plan that Hamas says are non-starter.
Read more »