Blinken urges Hamas to accept Israel's truce proposal

STORY: Hamas negotiators were expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal Israel presented at the weekend, ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on the southern border city of Rafah.

Blinken reiterated that the U.S. could not support an Israeli ground assault on Rafah - where Israel says Hamas' last four intact battalions are holed up - "in the absence of an (Israeli) plan to ensure that civilians will not be harmed."

Blinken, speaking earlier at the opening of a meeting with Gulf Arab states, said the most effective way to address the crisis and create space for a more lasting solution was to get a ceasefire that allowed the release of hostages held by Hamas.