’Complex issues,’ ’hard decisions’ remain over Israel-Hamas cease-fire plan: Antony Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza. He called on Hamas to do the same.

Mr. Blinken on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) was on his ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began more than 10 months ago. He did not say whether the “bridging proposal” addressed concerns cited by Hamas.

Even if the militant group accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement,” Mr. Blinken said. He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics.

Mr. Blinken is traveling to Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) for further negotiations after meetings in Israel on Monday (August 19, 2024).

His visit came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism that a deal was close. His trip also came amid fears the conflict could widen into a deeper regional war following the killings of top militant commanders in Lebanon that Iran blamed on Israel.

Here’s the latest:

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7 attack that started the Gaza war.

The military said in a statement Tuesday (August 20, 2024) that its forces recovered the bodies in an overnight operation in southern Gaza. It identified the hostages as Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Haim Perry, without saying when or how they died.

The recovery came as the the United States, Egypt and Qatar are trying to mediate a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of scores of hostages held by the militant group.

Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages captured in the October 7 attack. Israeli authorities estimate around a third of them are dead.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said that a barrage of 55 rockets from Lebanon has ignited fires in northern Israel.

The military said Tuesday (August 20, 2024) that only some of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems, while others fell in open areas. Firefighters were working to contain the blazes.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said it fired “intense barrages of missiles” at military positions in Israel’s north. Israel said it struck the areas where the missiles were launched in Lebanon.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since October 8, causing widespread damage on both sides of the border and killing civilians and combatants on both sides.

Fears have increased in recent weeks of a larger escalation, with Hezbollah vowing retaliation for an Israeli strike last month in Beirut that killed one of its top commanders.

JERUSALEM — The bodies of two hostages were returned from the Gaza Strip, the communal farm they lived on announced Tuesday (August 20, 2024).

Kibbutz Nirim said that the bodies of Yagev Buchshtav and Nadav Popplewell had been returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight. The kibbutz did not provide additional information and the Israeli military did not immediately confirm the information.

Israeli media reported that the two men — along with Avraham Munder, whose death his kibbutz announced Tuesday (August 20, 2024) — were part of a larger military hostage extraction operation overnight.

Popplewell was declared dead by the Israeli military in June. Hamas said in May that Popplewell had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike. Israel’s military announced Buchshtav’s death in July.

The men were taken hostage by militants who stormed the border on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. About 110 hostages kidnapped that day remain in the strip. About a third of them are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

JERUSALEM — Another male hostage has died in Hamas captivity, his communal farming village announced Tuesday (August 20, 2024).

Kibbutz Nir Oz said that Avraham Munder had been killed while held hostage in Gaza “after enduring months of physical and mental torture.” It was not clear from the statement whether his body had been recovered. Israel’s military did not immediately confirm the information.

Of some 110 hostages remaining in Gaza who were captured in Hamas’ October 7 attack, around 40 are believed to be dead, their bodies held in Gaza.

The kibbutz remembered Mr. Munder for his “clear voice, warm smile, and boundless love for his family and the kibbutz.”

Militants kidnapped Mr. Munder on October 7 when they stormed Nir Oz, dragging some 80 of its residents back to Gaza.

Mr. Munder’s wife, daughter, and grandson were also taken hostage, but released during a brief cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. His son was killed on October 7.

In total, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, across southern Israel and took about 250 hostages back to Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

UNITED NATIONS – From the early days of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan attacked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, accusing him of being “an accomplice to terrorism” and calling for his resignation.

Now, Israel has a new ambassador, and the U.N. chief is calling for “a constructive dialogue.”

However, Danny Danon, who served as Israel’s U.N. ambassador from 2015 to 2020 and presented his credentials to the secretary-general on Monday (August 19, 2024), made clear he would be following in Erdan’s footsteps when it comes to Israel’s views about the United Nations.

Mr. Danon said he’s returning to the U.N. at a time of “immense challenges” for Israel and its people, saying 115 Israelis are still being held hostage in Gaza and face “ongoing atrocities and suffering.”

“I am committed to represent my country to show the real face of Israel, and to push back the lies and the hypocrisy that we unfortunately have to deal with here at this building,” he said.

Neither the U.N. Security Council nor the General Assembly have condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people and triggered the war, though Guterres has repeatedly called for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages. He has also criticised the killing of over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including many women and children, mainly in Israeli airstrikes, as well as Israel’s obstruction to humanitarian aid deliveries.

For his part, Mr. Guterres said that “for the U.N., it is extremely important to have an objective relationship with Israel.”

“We have different points of view in many aspects in relation to the two-state solution, in relation to what has been happening recently,” Mr. Guterres said, “but that doesn’t mean that we should not have a constructive dialogue based on truth.”

BEIRUT — The Israeli army said it hit “a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities” in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley Monday (August 19, 2024) night.

At least three Israeli airstrikes hit towns in the Baalbek district, Lebanese state media reported.

Videos from the scene showed a large fire and multiple explosions following the initial strike.

“Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities struck,” the Israeli army statement said.

A spokesperson for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the strike.

A similar scene took place last month after an Israeli airstrike on the southern coastal village of Adloun hit an arms depot, setting off a series of explosions that hit nearby villages with shrapnel.