Blinken urges Hamas to accept new ‘extraordinarily generous’ ceasefire proposal

Antony Blinken at a meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Authority, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

The United States has stepped up pressure for a ceasefire deal in Gaza as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators.

It came as Israeli air strikes killed 26 people in Gaza’s southern town of Rafah, according to hospital records.