Blinken says now is 'maybe the last' chance for a Gaza ceasefire deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the time is now to conclude a Gaza ceasefire agreement that would return captives held by Hamas and bring relief to Palestinian suffering after 10 months of devastating fighting in Gaza.

Blinken's ninth urgent mission to the Middle East since the war began came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism a deal was near.

But Hamas has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the latest proposal, and Israel has said there were areas it was unwilling to compromise.

The trip, days ahead of new talks expected this week in Egypt, comes amid fears the war could widen into a deeper regional war following the killings of top commanders in Lebanon that Iran blamed on Israel.

"This is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security," Blinken said as he opened talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

"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."

Herzog thanked Blinken for the Biden administration's support for Israel and lamented a spate of recent attacks against Israelis in the past 24 hours.

"This is the way we are living these days," Herzog said. "We are surrounded by terrorism from all four corners of the earth and we are fighting back as a resilient and strong nation."

Mediators are to meet again this week to try to cement a ceasefire. Blinken will travel to Egypt on Tuesday after he wraps up his Israel stop in meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant later Monday.

The war after the 7 October Hamas attacks killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 captives. Of those, some 110 are still believed to be in Gaza, though Israeli authorities say around a third are dead.

Over 100 captives were released in November during a weeklong ceasefire.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and devastated much of the territory.