The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Monday as he left Cairo for Israel that he was urging leaders in the region to press Hamas to say yes to a ceasefire proposal to halt fighting in Gaza. Blinken said Hamas was the only outlier in not accepting the proposal for a three-phase deal involving the release of hostages and talks toward an end to fighting, to which he said Israel had agreed. Israel is pressing on with assaults in central and southern Gaza, while Hamas has called on Washington to pressure Israel to halt the fighting
