Blinken says Israel has accepted US-backed proposal for cease-fire, calls on Hamas to do same [Video]

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether it had addressed concerns cited by the militant group.Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and was expected to travel to Egypt on Tuesday. The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker an agreement, with the talks repeatedly stalling.He did not say whether the so-called bridging proposal addressed Israel’s demands for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza, which Hamas has said is a nonstarter, or other issues that have long bedeviled the negotiations.“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal,” Blinken told reporters. …