US steps up pressure on Israel for immediate ceasefire

THE United States today stepped up a concerted push to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, as Britain made clear its exasperation with Israeli blockages on aid to malnourished Palestinians.

- Jitendra Joshi

Extending his sixth visit to the region since the war against Hamas started in October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading for an unscheduled stop in Tel Aviv for talks with Israel's hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US also circulated a resolution at the United Nations security council for a vote this afternoon, having vetoed previous attempts to force its Israeli allies to suspend the fighting. It declares that "an immediate and sustained ceasefire" in the war is "imperative" to protect civilians and enable aid to get through to more than two million hungry Palestinians.

Parallel negotiations to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas were progressing, Mr Blinken told Saudi Arabian TV.

The top US diplomat said that Egyptian and Qatari mediators worked with Israel to put a "strong proposal" on the table. Hamas rejected it but reverted with its own demands. "The gaps are narrowing, and an agreement is very much possible," he said.

But in Cairo last night, Mr Blinken also delivered a warning for Mr Netanyahu who remains insistent that only a ground onslaught on the teeming city of Rafah