Blinken urges Hamas to accept ‘generous’ Israeli ceasefire deal in Riyadh visit

The US’s top diplomat called on Hamas leadership to accept what he described as an “extraordinarily generous” temporary peace deal offered by Israel on Monday as he returned to the region and met with regional power players.

Antony Blinken was at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as he made the statement and declared that «the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas”. More than 30,000 people, including several thousand children, have died as a direct result of the Israeli military offensive launched in Gaza following the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history on October 7.

“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” Mr Blinken said on Monday, according to media reports. “They have to decide and they have to decide quickly. I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision.»

The secretary’s comments come just two days after Hamas militants released videos of two kidnapped hostages believed to be still held in the Gaza Strip; one was an American citizen, Keith Siegel. The group is believed to be holding around 130 hostages still in Gaza amid the fighting, taken captive during that October 7 attack. Five US nationals are thought to be among them.

His visit to the region and comments also come amid a massive wave of protests against the war — and the US’s involvement via arms transfers to Israel — on college campuses around the United States. Disputes between university administrations and protesters who have set up makeshift encampments on their campuses have led to violent crackdowns by police, including at New York’s Columbia University and Georgia’s Emory University.

President Joe Biden last week signed into