Blinken warns Israel, Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
Blinken warns Israel, Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war

Hamas-Israel war

Reuters
19 August, 2024, 07:05 pm
Last modified: 19 August, 2024, 07:09 pm

Related News

  • Israeli strike kills children near Gaza clinic with no immediate truce in sight
  • US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese over ICC ties, criticism of Israel
  • Netanyahu and Trump prioritise hostages as Gaza military campaign grinds on
  • Gazans reject Trump's displacement plan despite death and destruction
  • Netanyahu says any future Palestinian state would be a platform to destroy Israel

Blinken warns Israel, Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war

The talks in Qatar last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are to resume this week based on a US "bridging proposal".

Reuters
19 August, 2024, 07:05 pm
Last modified: 19 August, 2024, 07:09 pm
US Secretary of State Blinken meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 19, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/Pool
US Secretary of State Blinken meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 19, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/Pool

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal was probably the best and possibly last opportunity, urging Israel and Hamas towards an elusive agreement.

However, with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas announcing a resumption of suicide bombing inside Israel after many years, and with Israeli airstrikes still pounding Gaza, there was little sign of conciliation.

Hamas and another militant group, Islamic Jihad, said they were behind a blast near a synagogue in Tel Aviv on Sunday that killed the bomber and wounded one other person. Suicide bombings "will return to the forefront" while the Gaza war continues, Hamas said in a statement.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The talks in Qatar last week paused without a breakthrough, but the negotiations are to resume this week based on a US "bridging proposal".

Blinken met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning.

"This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security," Blinken told reporters before meeting Herzog.

Months of on-off talks have circled the same issues, with Israel saying the war can only end with the destruction of Hamas as a military and political force and Hamas saying it will only accept a permanent, and not a temporary, ceasefire.

There are disagreements over Israel's continued military presence inside Gaza, particularly along the border with Egypt, over the free movement of Palestinians inside the territory, and over the identity and number of prisoners to be freed in a swap.

Despite US expressions of optimism, both Israel and Hamas have signalled that a deal will be difficult.

Hamas accused Netanyahu on Sunday of "thwarting the mediators efforts" and Turkey said Hamas envoys had told it that US officials were "painting an overly optimistic picture".

Netanyahu told Israel's cabinet on Sunday that "we are conducting negotiations and not a scenario in which we just give and give", his office said.

However, a US official, asked if Hamas' comments amounted to a rejection of the deal, said Washington believed the bridging proposal it outlined last week addressed various concerns and would iron out difficult implementation aspects.

The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military campaign has since levelled swathes of Gaza, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities.

The main UN agency in Gaza, UNRWA, said on Monday that 207 of its staff had been killed since the war began. "They were engineers, teachers, medical staff. They were humanitarian workers," UNRWA said in a statement.

ESCALATION RISK

Blinken's visit comes as US President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure over his stance on the conflict, with his Democratic party holding its national convention on Monday amid worries about Muslim and Arab-American votes in swing states.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri was dismissive of the chances that Blinken would press Netanyahu to accept a deal. "Blinken acts as if he was a minister in Netanyahu's government," Zuhri told Reuters.

Families of Israeli hostages, who have staged protests urging a deal, spoke out again on Monday. "Don't sacrifice my daughter and the dozens of helpless hostages," said Ayelet Levy-Shachar on Kan Radio. Her daughter Naama, 20, was captured at an army base.

Inside Gaza, Palestinians said they had little optimism that Blinken's visit would bring a ceasefire.

"They are lying just to destroy us more and more. Kill us and kill our children, starve us and make us homeless. Blinken is useless, his visit will harm the Palestinian people," said Hanan Abu Hamid, who was displaced from her home in Rafah.

The conflict has put the entire Middle East region on edge, triggering months of border clashes between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, and threatening a wider escalation drawing in major powers.

Blinken warned against any provocations. "It's also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process, and so we're working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations."

Israel's military said there had been more Hezbollah drone strikes on the country's north near the frontier with Lebanon on Monday. Blinken is to meet Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after meeting Netanyahu.

In the latest Gaza fighting, Israeli military advances north of Khan Younis on Monday reached the coastal road, effectively cutting access between the city and areas to the north, residents said. They said fierce clashes could be heard.

Israel also stepped up its bombardment of Gaza City suburbs overnight, and airstrikes in Nuseirat camp and in Khan Younis in southern and central Gaza Strip medics said eight Palestinians were killed.

Top News / World+Biz / Middle East

Israel-Hamas / Gaza / US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Abul Barkat at Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 11 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Economist Abul Barkat sent to jail in Tk297cr embezzlement case
  • BNP senior leader Salahuddin Ahmed. Photo: Collected
    No scope for electoral alliance with Jamaat, door not closed for NCP: BNP's Salahuddin
  • Sketch: TBS
    No peace through concession — only struggle secures tomorrow

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS
  • The overall pass rate across all boards this year, 68.45%, is significantly lower than last year's. Photo: Focus Bangla
    SSC 2025: Rajshahi board records highest pass rate, Barishal lowest
  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends

Related News

  • Israeli strike kills children near Gaza clinic with no immediate truce in sight
  • US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese over ICC ties, criticism of Israel
  • Netanyahu and Trump prioritise hostages as Gaza military campaign grinds on
  • Gazans reject Trump's displacement plan despite death and destruction
  • Netanyahu says any future Palestinian state would be a platform to destroy Israel

Features

Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

20h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

23h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

23h | Panorama
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

11 July 2024: Riot vehicles, water cannons hit the streets as police crack down on protesters

16h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Threat of 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods

Threat of 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods

38m | TBS World
Israel ready to strike back if Iran threatens: Katz

Israel ready to strike back if Iran threatens: Katz

2h | TBS World
India is strengthening ties with Israel

India is strengthening ties with Israel

3h | TBS World
'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

19h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net