Blinken says Israel OKs a plan to break the cease-fire impasse and urges Hamas to do the same

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the militant group had been addressed.

The high-stakes negotiations have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war.

Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and will travel to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations. The three mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, with the talks repeatedly stalling.

“In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal,” Blinken told reporters, without saying what the proposal entails. “The next important step is for Hamas to say ‘yes.’”

He added, however, that even if Hamas accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement.” He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics.

Hamas has said it is losing faith in the U.S. as a mediator, accusing American negotiators of siding with Israel as it makes new demands that the militant group rejects. Blinken did not say whether the proposal addressed Israel's demand for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza — which Hamas has said is a nonstarter — or other issues that have long bedeviled the negotiations.

Netanyahu said that he had a “good and important meeting” with Blinken and appreciated the “understanding that the United States has shown to our vital security interests, along with our shared efforts to release our hostages.” He added that efforts are being made to release the maximum number of hostages in the first stage of a the cease-fire deal.

Blinken's ninth mission to the Middle East since the conflict began came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism that a deal was near. But Hamas has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the latest proposal, and Israel has said there were points on which it was unwilling to compromise.

Earlier on Monday, Blinken said it was a “decisive moment,” and “maybe the last” opportunity to free the hostages and secure a cease-fire.

“It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” he said in a veiled reference to Iran. “And so we’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way move us away from getting this deal over the line, or for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity.”

Mediators will meet again this week to try to cement a cease-fire. Blinken will travel Tuesday to Egypt and Qatar, where Hamas maintains a political office.

The war began on Oct. 7 when thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 others. Of those, about 110 are still believed to be in Gaza, though Israeli authorities say around a third are dead. More than 100 hostages were released in November during a weeklong cease-fire.

Dozens of Israelis demonstrated outside of the Tel Aviv hotel where Blinken was staying, holding photos of the hostages and demanding an immediate cease-fire.

“We know that only with vast help of the American administration a deal will come,” said Yehuda Cohen, whose 20-year-old son, Nimrod, is being held hostage in Gaza. “We are here to say it out loud: Blinken, Antony Blinken, please push Netanyahu for a deal at any price because I want my son to be free.”

Israel's counterattack in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and devastated much of the territory. The war has plunged the territory of 2.3 million people into a humanitarian catastrophe, with aid groups now fearing an outbreak of polio.

Blinken said the United States shares those concerns and is working on a plan with Israel to ensure vaccines are made available “in the coming weeks,” saying “it is urgent, it is vital.”

Late last week, the three countries mediating the proposed cease-fire — Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. —reported progress on a deal under which Israel would halt most military operations in Gaza and release a number of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of hostages.

The evolving proposal calls for a three-phase process in which Hamas would release all hostages abducted during its Oct. 7 attack. In exchange, Israel would withdraw its forces from Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas accuses Israel of adding new demands that it maintain a military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent arms smuggling and along a line bisecting the territory so it can search Palestinians returning to their homes in the north to prevent militants from slipping in. Israel said those weren't new demands, but clarifications of a previous proposal.

Late Sunday, Hamas said in a statement that Netanyahu has continued to set obstacles to a deal by demanding new conditions, accusing him of wanting to prolong the war. It said the mediators’ latest offer was a capitulation to Israel.

“The new proposal responds to Netanyahu’s conditions,” Hamas said.

Samy Magdy contributed to this report from Cairo.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he disembarks from his plane in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to media at the David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, walks at the David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to media at the David Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel's President Isaac Herzog, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt/Pool Photo via AP)

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nearly 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and more than 125 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported Thursday.

Vietnam's VNExpress newspaper reported that 197 people have died and 128 are still missing, while more than 800 have been injured.

In the capital, flood waters from the Red River receded slightly but many areas were still inundated.

In Hanoi's Tay Ho district, people waded through muddy brown water above their knees to make their way along one street, some still wearing their bicycle and motorcycle helmets after abandoning their vehicles along the way.

A few paddled along the road in small boats as empty water bottles, a stryofoam cooler and other flotsam drifted by; one man pushed his motorbike toward drier ground in an aluminum sloop.

Pedestrians hiked up their shorts as high as possible to avoid being soaked by the wake caused by a delivery truck powering its way through the water.

Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.

The flooding in Hanoi has been reportedly the worst in two decades, and has led to widespread evacuations.

The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam's Lao Cai province Tuesday.

Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.

Floods and landslides have caused most of the deaths, many of which have come in the northwestern Lao Cai province, bordering China, where Lang Nu is located. Lao Cai province is also home to the popular trekking destination of Sapa.

On Monday, a bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding, killing dozens of people.

The steel bridge in Phu Tho province over the engorged Red River collapsed, sending 10 cars and trucks along with two motorbikes into the river. The bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province.

Experts say storms like Typhoon Yagi are getting stronger due to climate change, as warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel them, leading to higher winds and heavier rainfall.

Rising reported from Bangkok.

Flood triggered by Typhoon Yagi submerges houses in Bac Giang province, Vietnam Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Le Danh Lam/VNA via AP)

A woman paddles a boat on a flooded street, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

A man pushes a stack of plyboards in flood following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

The iconic Long Bien bridge is seen on flooded Red river, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

People look on a submerged dragon structure in a playground, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Mud and debris bury houses in Lang Nu hamlet in Lao Cai province, Vietnam Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024. (Pham Hong Ninh/VNA via AP)

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Rescue workers clear mud and debris brough down by a flood in Lang Nu hamlet in Lao Cai province, Vietnam Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024. (Pham Hong Ninh/VNA via AP)