Blinken in West Asia to push Gaza ceasefire as Israeli troops advance

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in West Asia hoping to deliver the ceasefire that President Joe Biden proposed last month, in an all-out push by Washington to secure an end to the Gaza war.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in West Asia on Monday hoping to deliver the ceasefire that President Joe Biden proposed last month, in an all-out push by Washington to secure an end to the Gaza war.

The top U.S. diplomat met Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo and was due to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence chief in Israel later in the day.

Ahead of his trip, Israel and Hamas both doubled down on hardline positions that have scuppered all previous attempts to end the fighting, while Israel has pressed on with assaults in central and southern Gaza, among the bloodiest of the war.

"We are committed to total victory," Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office, quoting remarks he made on Sunday to relatives of Israelis killed in Gaza.

"What is the main dispute? It is over Hamas' demand ... that we commit to stopping the war without achieving our goals of eliminating Hamas.... I am not prepared to do so."

Hamas, for its part, said Washington must push its ally Israel to halt the fighting.

"We call upon the U.S. administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza, and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters ahead of Mr. Blinken's arrival.