Blinken visits Gaza mediators in pursuit of cease-fire deal

JERUSALEM — Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he pressed ahead Tuesday with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in Gaza.

The Hamas terrorist group called the latest proposal presented to it a “reversal” of what it had agreed to, and accused the United States in a statement of acquiescing to “new conditions” from Israel. There was no immediate U.S. response.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, met with families of fallen soldiers and hostages in Gaza. The groups, which oppose a cease-fire deal, said Netanyahu told them Israel will not abandon two strategic corridors in Gaza whose control by Israel has been an obstacle in the talks. Netanyahu’s office did not comment on their account.

A senior U.S. official rejected as “totally untrue” Netanyahu’s alleged comments that he had told Blinken that Israel would never leave the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Blinken’s private diplomatic talks.

Netanyahu’s meeting with the families came as Israel’s military said it recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack that started the war, bringing fresh grief for many Israelis who have long pressed Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire that would bring remaining hostages home. New protests were held Tuesday.

Blinken’s meetings in Egypt, which borders Gaza, and in Qatar, which hosts some Hamas leaders in exile, come a day after he met Netanyahu and said the prime minister had accepted a U.S. proposal to bridge gaps separating Israel and Hamas. Blinken called on Hamas to do the same. Officials did not release details of the bridging proposal.

There has been added urgency to seal a deal after the recent targeted killings of terrorist leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Iran and Lebanon, both blamed on Israel, and vows of retaliation that have sparked fears of a wider regional war.

Israel’s military said its forces recovered the six bodies of hostages in an overnight operation in southern Gaza, saying they were killed during a time that troops were operating in Khan Younis. Hamas says some captives have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, though returning hostages have talked about difficult conditions in captivity, including lack of food or medications.

The recovery of the remains is also a blow to Hamas, which hopes to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal and a lasting cease-fire.

The military said it had identified the remains of Chaim Perry, 80; Yoram Metzger, 80; Avraham Munder, 79; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev Buchshtav, 35. Metzger, Munder, Popplewell and Buchshtav had family members who were also taken hostage and were freed during a November cease-fire.

Munder’s death was confirmed by Kibbutz Nir Oz, the farming community where he was among around 80 residents seized. It said he died after “months of physical and mental torture.” Israeli authorities previously determined the other five were dead. There were no reports of casualties among Israelis or Palestinians in the recovery operation.

Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages captured on Oct. 7. Israeli authorities estimate around a third are dead.

Hamas-led terrorists burst through Israel’s defenses on Oct. 7 and rampaged across the south, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage. Over 100 were released in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel during last year’s cease-fire.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

An Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed at least 12 people at a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City. Israel’s military said the strike targeted Hamas terrorists who had set up a command center there.