While U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has been pressing for an Israel-Hamas cease-fire, many officials familiar with the negotiations say that major disagreements remain. Although Blinken announced that Israel had accepted the U.S. proposed cease-fire, Israeli and Hamas officials are now downplaying the idea that an agreement will be reached anytime soon. Israel and Hamas believe that the proposal does not resolve some of their biggest disagreements. Hamas is supportive of a cease-fire but is calling the latest proposal “a reversal” from what the group had agreed to earlier on. Parts of the new proposal include recent Israeli demands, leading Hamas to accuse the U.S. of bowing down to Israel.
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