Netanyahu and Blinken hold 'private meeting' in Jerusalem

Jerusalem : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are holding a "private meeting" at the latter's office in Jerusalem, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said on Monday afternoon.

"An expanded meeting will be held afterward with the participation of the Strategic Affairs Minister, the Prime Minister's Chief-of-Staff, the Deputy Director of the National Security Council, the Prime Minister's Military Secretary, the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Adviser, the Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, the US Ambassador to Israel and the Prime Minister's Spokesperson," stated Netanyahu's office.

Blinken is on a three-day visit to Egypt and Israel to continue Washington's "intensive diplomatic efforts" to conclude the agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages and detainees through the bridging proposal presented by the United States, with support from Egypt and Qatar.

The proposal, stated the US State Department last week, would achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, ensure humanitarian assistance is distributed throughout Gaza, and create the conditions for broader regional stability.

Earlier in the day, Blinken met Israeli President Isaac Herzog as he began his ninth visit to the region since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

"In the last 24 hours, we have witnesses ongoing terror attacks by Palestinian terrorists. We have suffered the loss of Gideon Perry, a 38-year-old father of three, husband, a lover of music, who went to work in a plant and one of his pals in the working place decided to murder him simply because he’s a Jew and an Israeli – a very great tragedy," said Herzog before the start of the meeting.

The Israeli President stated that the country is surrounded by terror from the "four corners of the Earth" and fighting back as a resilient and strong nation.

"Last night we've witnessed a suspected major terror attack in Tel Aviv, which is under investigation, with a possible suicide bomber. And this morning our soldiers have been attacked in Ya’ara – Ya’ara is on the border with Lebanon – by Hizballah terrorists with drones, and there are some – there is information that we have suffered possible casualties. We are under review of this. And this is the way we are living these days," he said.

He insisted that there is "no greater humanitarian objective" and "no greater humanitarian cause" than bringing back and "doing everything possible" to bring back Israeli hostages home.

Terming it as a "decisive moment – probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity" to get the hostages home and get a ceasefire, Blinken said that he was visiting Israel as part of an intensive diplomatic effort on US President Joe Biden's instructions.

"It is time for it to get done. It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process, 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 could move us away from getting this deal over the line or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity.

"I know this is a fraught moment in Israel with deep concern about the possibility of attacks coming from Iran, coming from Hizballah and other sources. And as you heard the president say, the United States has taken decisive action to deploy forces here to deter any attacks and, if necessary, to defend against any attacks," said the US Secretary of State.