RIYADH
\nUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Hamas to swiftly accept an Israeli proposal for a truce in the Gaza war and the release of Israeli prisoners held by the Palestinian group.
\nAfter meeting in Cairo, the Hamas delegation left Egypt and returned to Qatar \u201cto discuss the ideas and the proposal\u2026 and we are keen to respond as quickly as possible,\u201d a Hamas source close to the talks told AFP on condition of anonymity.
\nMeanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call on Monday from US President Joe Biden to discuss the latest developments in negotiations regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the dangers of a military escalation in Rafah, a statement from Egypt\u2019s presidency said.
\nThe spokesman said the call also touched on the exchange of Israeli prisoners for Palestinian ones, a main sticking point in any comprehensive ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
\n\u201cHamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,\u201d Blinken said at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. A source briefed on the talks said Israel\u2019s proposal entailed a deal for the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 prisoners believed to be still held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel.
\nA second phase of a truce would consist of a \u201cperiod of sustained calm\u201d \u2014 Israel\u2019s compromise response to a Hamas demand for a permanent ceasefire.
\nMeanwhile, Israel is voicing concern that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could be preparing to issue ar rest warrants for government officials on charges related to the conduct of its war against Hamas.
\nIn response to Israeli media reports that the ICC might soon issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli government and military officials, Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Sunday warned Israeli embassies to bolster their security because of the risk of a \u201cwave of severe antisemitism\u201d.
\n\u201cWe expect the court (ICC) to refrain from issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli political and security officials,\u201d Katz said. \u201cWe won\u2019t bow our heads or be deterred and will continue to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIYADH US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Hamas to swiftly accept an Israeli proposal for a truce in the Gaza war and the release of Israeli prisoners held by the Palestinian group. After meeting in Cairo, the Hamas delegation left Egypt and returned to Qatar \u201cto discuss the ideas and the proposal\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-403814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n