Blinken pushes Israel on postwar Gaza plans as pressure mounts on Hamas to accept cease-fire plan

By MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

TEL AVIV (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged top Israeli officials to accept a plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to a cease-fire proposal newly endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. On his eighth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war began, Blinken met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Blinken is pushing the proposal, which faces new uncertainty following Israel’s hostage rescue operation that killed many Palestinians and turmoil in Netanyahu’s government.