Middle East updates: Blinken in Israel for Gaza deal talks

Hamas on Sunday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "obstructing" a possible cease-fire and hostage exchange in Gaza by setting new conditions. 

The Palestinian group, which is designated a terrorist organization by the EU, the United States and Israel, among others, said Netanyahu was "fully responsible for thwarting the efforts of the mediators, obstructing an agreement, and (bears) full responsibility for the lives" of hostages in Gaza.

Israeli officials, and mediators the United States, Egypt and Qatar, held fresh talks in Doha in the past few days. 

But Hamas, which was not represented in Doha, said the new proposal were too close to Netanyahu's recent positions.

Earlier the Israeli prime minister accused Hamas of being "obstinate" and called for more pressure on them to bring about a cease-fire deal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Tel Aviv to ratchet up the pressure to achieve a cease-fire deal in Gaza and return hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas to Israel.

During his ninth trip since the conflict began, Blinken will meet Monday with senior Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior State Department official said. He will then travel to Egypt where truce talks will resume in the coming days.

A US official traveling with Blinken told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that "the feeling is... that various sticking points that existed before are bridgeable, and that work's going to continue."

The mediating countries — Qatar, the United States and Egypt — have so far failed to reach a deal in months of on-off negotiations.

Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday there are areas where Israel can be flexible and unspecified areas where it won't be.

"We are conducting negotiations and not a scenario in which we just give and give," he said.

Hamas has cast doubt on whether an agreement is near, saying the latest proposal diverged significantly from a previous iteration it had accepted in principle.

Israel's demands for a lasting military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border is one of the issues Hamas has rejected.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting that there ought to be more pressure on Hamas militants to bring about a cease-fire deal.

"Hamas, up to this moment, remains obstinate. It did not even send a representative to the talks in Doha. Therefore, the pressure should be directed at Hamas and (Yahya) Sinwar, not at the Israeli government," Netanyahu said at the meeting, referring to the newly appointed Hamas chief.

Pressure has been growing on Israel, including from families of hostages held in Gaza, to finalize a deal to see their loved ones return home.

Netanyahu said at the meeting, "we are conducting very complex negotiations," adding that "there are things we can be flexible on and there are things that we cannot be flexible on, which we will insist on."

He said "enormous efforts" are being made to bring home hostages, adding, "We firmly stand by the principles we have set, which are essential for Israel's security." 

Some 110 hostages are believed to be in Gaza, with Israeli authorities saying around a third are deceased. A truce deal in November freed more than 100 hostages.

Some 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

Three UN peacekeepers were injured after a blast near their vehicle in volatile southern Lebanon, the United Nations said.

"Earlier today, three peacekeepers on patrol were lightly injured when an explosion occurred near their clearly marked UN vehicle in the vicinity of Yarine, in south Lebanon," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.

"All peacekeepers in the patrol returned safely to their base. We are looking into the incident," it added.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah have been exchanging almost daily cross-border fire since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza.

An Israeli strike this weekend claimed 10 lives in southern Lebanon, in one of the deadliest incidents since October 7.

Norway is closing its Representative Office in occupied West Bank that was first established in 1999, the Norwegian government has said.

Israel revoked the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats at the office earlier this August.

Israel said it was retaliation for Norway having recognized a Palestinian state in May. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday that: "We will act against those who act against us."

"As a result of the Netanyahu government's decision to no longer facilitate Norway's representation to the Palestinian Authority, our Representative Office in Al Ram in Palestine must be closed as of today," the Norwegian government said in a statement on Friday. 

Israeli strikes early Sunday on a home in the central town of Deir al-Balah killed a woman and her six children, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Late Saturday, a strike near the southern city of Khan Younis killed four people from the same family, including two women, the Nasser Hospital there said.

Israel says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on the Hamas militant group concealing fighters, weapons, tunnels and rockets in residential areas.

The monthslong Israeli bombardment has wiped out extended families and left thousands of children orphaned. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to land in Israel on Sunday as Washington continues to push for a deal to secure the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza, as well as bring about a cease-fire.

The deal has repeatedly stalled over disagreements between warring parties Hamas — considered a terrorist group by many countries including Israel, Germany and the US — and Israel.

Blinken is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials on Monday.

Negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar met an Israeli delegation in Doha on Thursday and Friday for a new round of talks to secure a cease-fire.

Hamas, which did not participate directly in the talks, accuses Israel of adding new demands to a previous proposal that had US and international support.

Now, the US has put forward proposals that it hopes will close gaps between the warring parties. US officials have expressed cautious optimism in terms of bringing the deal over the finish line, saying there was work to be done.

Talks on how to implement a deal are also set to continue early next week in Cairo. 

The negotiations take place as the death toll in Gaza crosses the 40,000 mark, highlighting the extent of suffering in the territory.

They also come against a backdrop of a feared regional escalation after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

rm/rc (Reuters, AFP, AP)