Blinken calls on Hamas to accept a truce “without further delay” –

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, today called on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to accept “without further delay” the proposed truce with Israel, associated with the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

“No more delays, no more excuses. The time to act is now,” Blinken declared to journalists in Jordan shortly before leaving for Israel, as part of his seventh trip to the region since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, more than six months ago.

The proposal for a truce in the war between Israel and Hamas was presented during a meeting held on Monday in Cairo with Egypt and Qatar, two of the mediating countries in the negotiations.
The Hamas delegation returned to Doha (in Qatar, where the political arm of the Islamist group is based) and is expected to respond “as quickly as possible”, a source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement told France Presse (AFP).

The proposal provides for a 40-day ceasefire and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media.