In Israel, Blinken says Hamas must agree to ceasefire deal, offers ‘cautious optimism’ to hostage families

Tel Aviv – Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Israel Wednesday morning for his seventh visit to the country since Hamas militants staged their bloody October 7 terrorist attack on the Jewish state, instantly triggering the war in the group’s stronghold in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken said upon his arrival that the Biden administration was “committed” to seeing Hamas and Israel agree to a ceasefire in the conflict, which health officials in the Hamas-led Palestinian territory say has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women. and children.

Desperate for more American support, Israelis gathered outside Blinken’s hotel in Tel Aviv, some of them holding signs expressing hope that American pressure would help bring home the remaining 133 hostages who are believed to still be detained in Gaza, including five US nationals believed to be alive.

Blinken returned to Israel after stops in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to discuss the situation. latest ceasefire proposal. Hamas leaders I’ve been looking at this draft for a few days. and were to respond on Wednesday.

“We are committed to achieving a ceasefire that brings the abductees home, and to achieving it now,” Blinken told Herzog as they stood in front of news cameras Wednesday. “The only reason a deal won’t be done is because of Hamas. There is an offer on the table, and like we said, no delays, no excuses.”

Blinken told Israeli protesters outside his hotel in Tel Aviv on Wednesday that he had conveyed the same message to the families of the remaining hostages whom he met shortly after returning to Israel.

“Bringing your loved ones home is at the heart of everything we try to do, and we won’t rest until everyone – man, woman, soldier, civilian, young, old – is back home.” , he told the group. “There is a very strong proposal on the table right now. Hamas must say yes and must achieve it. This is our determination, and we will not rest, we will not stop until you have reunited with your loved ones. So please stay strong, keep the faith. We will be with you every day until we get there.

It can’t come soon enough for dozens of families, including Aviva Siegel’s. Her American husband Keith remains among those detained by Hamas, 208 days after his arrest on October 7.

This weekend he appeared in a Hamas propaganda video. For Siegel, it was at least proof that her husband was still alive.

“I think the grief and the anguish are unimaginable,” she told CBS News in an emotional interview. “I feel like I’m broken into pieces…I know Keith has had enough. My family has had enough. My country has had enough.”

Aviva was a hostage herself, but was released after 51 days in captivity.

She and her daughter were among the relatives of the American hostages who had a face-to-face meeting with Blinken on Wednesday.

“It was really a feeling of gratitude,” Aviva’s daughter Elan told CBS News after the meeting. “I think we all feel, not just American citizens, I think Israel really feels grateful for what the United States has done since October 7.”

A statement from the collective headquarters of the Hostage Families Forum, which represents all families of captives, called the discussion with Blinken “positive, with Blinken expressing cautious optimism about the pending agreement for their release.”

In Jerusalem, Blinken also pushed Netanyahu to increase the flow of desperately needed aid to Gaza and ensure its safe distribution. Israel has taken steps to allow more aid by land and sea, and humanitarian agencies recognize this and are increasing, but they say it is not enough to stave off the threat of famine facing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. in the enclave.

Blinken and Netanyahu “discussed improving the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza since the call between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu on April 4 and reiterated the importance of accelerating and maintaining this improvement,” the State Department said in a statement released after their meeting. .

The statement noted that Blinken had also reaffirmed U.S. commitments to Israel’s security, “the need to avoid further expansion of the conflict,” and the Biden administration’s position that a long-promised Israeli ground military operation in the crowded southern city of Rafah should only begin when the safety of the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering there can be assured.

The White House urged Netanyahu’s government to limit the scale of its operations in Rafah, and the UN chief renewed his warning that a military offensive in the city would constitute “an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee.”

Despite pressure, Netanyahu promised this week that the operation would continue and civilians would be evacuated, but he did not say when the operation would begin.

CBS News’ Tucker Reals contributed to this report.