The top U.S. diplomat urged the leaders of Middle Eastern countries to put pressure on Hamas to accept a cease-fire deal proposed by President Joe Biden ten days ago, as his country is criticized for unwavering support to Israel's massacres in Gaza and not putting enough pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to end the atrocities.
Blinken is on his eighth visit to the region since Oct. 7. The trip comes at a critical time as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Hamas to agree to a cease-fire deal with Israel and ensure the war does not expand into Lebanon.
Blinken said Hamas was the only outlier in not accepting the proposal for a three-phase deal involving the release of hostages and talks toward an end to fighting, to which he said Israel had agreed.
Hamas said in May it had agreed to a deal for a cease-fire and hostage-for-prisoners swap, but an Israeli official said at the time the deal was not acceptable to Israel because terms had been "softened."
"My message to governments throughout the region, to people throughout the region, is if you want a cease-fire, press Hamas to say yes," Blinken told reporters before departing Egypt, where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
A senior Hamas official told Reuters that Blinken's Gaza cease-fire comments were biased in favor of Israel.
Blinken arrived in Israel on Monday evening, where he was meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is scheduled to meet Defense Minister Yoav Gallant later on Monday.
The top U.S. diplomat said he would also discuss plans for governance and reconstruction in post-conflict Gaza during his trip, on which he will also meet regional leaders in Jordan and Qatar.
The visit comes after U.S. President Biden on May 31 outlined a three-phase cease-fire proposal from Israel that envisions a permanent end to hostilities, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
Blinken said Egyptian officials had been in communication with Hamas as recently as a few hours ago.
There was a sense of urgency on getting an answer from Hamas on the deal, he said but declined to further detail his talks.
Cease-fire talks have intensified since Biden's speech and CIA director William Burns met senior officials from mediators Qatar and Egypt on Wednesday in Doha to discuss the plan.
Biden has repeatedly declared that cease-fires were close over the past several months, but there has been only one, week-long truce, in November.
On Saturday, Israel committed another massacre, killing 274 Palestinians to rescue four hostages held by Hamas.
Blinken did not respond to the question of whether the raid had worsened hopes for a deal.
"Ultimately, I can't put myself - none of us can put ourselves - in the minds of Hamas or its leaders," Blinken said. "So we don't know what the answer will be."
Blinken's trip comes after Israeli minister Benny Gantz announced his resignation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency government on Sunday, withdrawing the only centrist power in the embattled leader's otherwise far-right coalition during the war in Gaza.
Blinken is expected to meet with Gantz on Tuesday, a senior State Department official said. They have met during previous visits by Blinken to Israel.
The departure of Gantz's centrist party will not pose an immediate threat to the government. But it could have a serious impact nonetheless, leaving Netanyahu reliant on hardliners, with no end in sight to the war and a possible escalation in fighting with Lebanese Hezbollah.
