US secretary of state speaks of ‘decisive moment’ for truce and hostage release during visit to Israel
The US secretary of state has said during a visit to Israel that the current round of ceasefire talks is “maybe the last opportunity” to broker a truce and hostage and prisoner swap in the 10-month war in Gaza.
Antony Blinken met Israeli officials, including a three-hour one-on-one with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday during a 24-hour trip to Tel Aviv before he travels on to Egypt. The US’s top diplomat’s trip – his ninth since the war broke out – is part of renewed international efforts to broker a ceasefire after the recent assassinations of a top Hezbollah commander and Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Lebanon and Iran.