Middle East conflict live updates: Blinken urges Hamas to accept deal, says pier for aid close to completion

In the proposal, Israel has made “very important compromises” that “demonstrate its desire, willingness” to get the deal done, Blinken said after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The proposal “would produce an immediate cease-fire, get the hostages home, alleviate suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza” in the short term, Blinken added before departing Israel.

Hamas officials said Thursday that the militant group was still studying the proposal, and they asked for patience amid reports it was viewing the offer negatively. “There is movement on some points and some need for negotiation,” Hamas official Basem Naim said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the Israeli military’s “ongoing activities and preparation for future operations in Gaza,” Gallant’s adviser Betty Ilovici said Thursday. The briefing comes as fears are mounting of an Israeli ground invasion of the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

Fifty-seven Democratic lawmakers signed an open letter urging President Biden to withhold sending offensive weaponry and other military support to Israel that could be used in an assault on Rafah. The letter was spearheaded by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.).

At least 34,596 people have been killed and 77,816 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.

Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 263 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.

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