Netanyahu Meets w/Blinken As Hamas Seeks Clarity On Latest Truce Offer

PM Benjamin Netanyahu has held private talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of a broader meeting that will include senior officials from both sides. The talks are the final part of Blinken's multi-country tour of the region. In recent days, Blinken has met with Arab leaders, encouraging them to use any influnce they have to push Hamas towards accepting a hostages-for-temporary ceasefire deal.

• Today, Blinken is seeking to impress on Netanyahu the call to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as demanding a "credible plan to avoid civilian harm" in any IDF ground assault on Rafah. The US has said that it has not seen such a plan to date.
• Earlier, Times of Israel reportedthat Hamas had asked for clarity on some elements of the proposed temporary ceasefire deal. ToI: "Hamas wants clear terms for the unconditional return of displaced people to the north of Gaza and to ensure that the second stage of the deal will include discussing the gradual and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops...."
• The 'second stage' of a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza remains a major impediment. The IDF's continued presence in Gaza is one of the few issues uniting the moderate and ultranationalist wings of the Netanyahu gov't.
• After separate talks in Cairo, French Foreign Minsiter Stephane Sejourne has said that work is to continue in the coming hours to secure a truce in Gaza. Adds that the 'message from France and Egypt is not to carry out an offensive in Rafah'.