Blinken in Israel as Netanyahu, Hamas trade blame over Gaza talks

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel's under-pressure prime minister traded blame with Hamas militants on Sunday for delays in reaching a Gaza truce accord as top US diplomat Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv to push for a deal.

Making his ninth trip to the Middle East since the Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel in October, the US secretary of state is to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders.

Diplomats say a Gaza deal could help avert a wider conflagration, and a US official speaking on customary condition of anonymity said this is "a particularly critical time".

Blinken aims "to press any and all parties that it's important to get the remaining pieces of this across the finish line", said the official.

Ahead of truce talks in Qatar last Thursday and Friday, Hamas had called on mediators -- rather than holding more negotiations -- to implement a framework outlined in late May by US President Joe Biden.

Biden said Sunday that a ceasefire was "still possible" and that the United States was "not giving up" in brief comments to reporters.

After the Qatar talks between US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators, the United States submitted a new compromise proposal, leading Hamas on Sunday to accuse Netanyahu of obstruction.

According to Hamas, the proposal "responds to Netanyahu's conditions, especially his rejection of a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim junction, the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor".

The latter two places are seen by Israel as important for preventing the flow of any weapons into the Gaza Strip, while the Netzarim junction sits at a strategic point between northern and southern Gaza.

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, the Islamist movement said in a statement.

Hamas officials have on several occasions accused Netanyahu of obstructing an agreement.

Western ally Jordan, hostage supporters protesting in Israel, and Hamas itself have called for pressure on Netanyahu in order for an agreement to be