“Hamas could have answered with a single word – yes,” he said.
“It’s time for the haggling to stop and a ceasefire to start.
Hamas submitted its reply to the multi-phased ceasefire and hostage release proposal to mediators on Tuesday.
According to a senior State Department official, Blinken, who was in Amman at the time, dispatched two of the senior staff traveling with him to retrieve Hamas’ response from Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, who was also in the Jordanian capital.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, described their response as “responsible, serious and positive.”CNN’s Becky Anderson, Hamdi Alkhshali and Benjamin Brown contributed to this report.
Persons:
Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, ”, “ Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jake Sullivan, ’, Israel, Blinken, Abbas Kamel, ” CNN’s Becky Anderson, Hamdi Alkhshali, Benjamin Brown
Organizations:
CNN, US National, UN, State Department, Egyptian
Locations:
Gaza, Doha, Israel, ”, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Amman, Jordanian, Izzat