AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The U.S. Secretary of State is in Israel today pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza. Antony Blinken is warning that this could be the last chance to free the remaining hostages who are still alive and held by Hamas.
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ANTONY BLINKEN: For us, for President Biden, there's a deep sense of urgency in getting this done.
CHANG: Blinken's hoping that a deal between Israel and Hamas could not only end more than 10 months of fighting in Gaza but could also ward off a looming attack from Iran and give the Democratic Party a major boost as it holds its convention in Chicago this week. For more on where the talks stand, I'm joined now by NPR State Department correspondent Michele Kelemen and NPR correspondent Kat Lonsdorf, both of whom are now in Tel Aviv. Hello to both of you.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
KAT LONSDORF, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: So Michele, let's start with you because you've been traveling with Secretary Blinken on - what is it now? - his ninth visit...
KELEMEN: That's right.
CHANG: ...To the region since the war began last October. What is he saying this time around about the chances of finally landing a cease-fire deal?
KELEMEN: Well, as you hear, he talks about this real sense of urgency. They're worried that the hostages may not live much longer, those who are alive. And they're worried about the death toll in Gaza, which Gaza health officials have said recently topped 40,000. You know, the president outlined a plan back in May to have a cease-fire and a hostage exchange. Last week, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar put some ideas on the table that they think will bridge the gaps between Israel and Hamas. And after three hours of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said that Netanyahu had accepted these bridging proposals, and now, he said, it's up to Hamas to do the same. He says there are some tough negotiations ahead, but the longer this drags on, the more suffering there is in Gaza.
CHANG: And, Kat, I mean, the U.S. has been sounding very optimistic about these latest talks. But are leaders for Hamas and Israel actually echoing that optimism? Because they're the ones, at the end of the day, who have to sign this deal.
LONSDORF: Yeah, so as Michele just said, you know, this deal that Blinken is here to push forward is based off a plan that Biden presented at the end of May. And when Biden presented that, he called it the, quote, "Israeli proposal," saying that Israel had backed it. But that wasn't the case. Netanyahu never accepted it, and it led to weeks of talks, all of which have ended at an impasse. And so even with Blinken saying that Netanyahu has agreed to this, like he just said today, we still haven't heard that sentiment directly from Netanyahu, who is, like you said, the one who needs to sign it, along with Hamas.
He just released a video in Hebrew tonight that made no mention of accepting the proposal, but mainly reiterated his goal to release the maximum number of hostages alive. Both Israel and Hamas released statements last night essentially saying that they are pessimistic about this bridging proposal. Hamas accused Netanyahu of obstructing a path forward, and Netanyahu's office says that Israel will not budge on key sticking points for Hamas.
CHANG: Well, Michele, what are the key sticking points at this moment?
KELEMEN: Well, of course, one big one is that Hamas wants an end to this war and Netanyahu won't make that promise. The deal that's on the table calls for a six-week cease-fire and then negotiations on making that cease-fire permanent. During the cease-fire, Hamas is supposed to release hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails. Just who the Israelis are willing to trade is one of the other key sticking points. And there are other issues. Netanyahu wants to keep Israeli forces along the border between Egypt and Gaza. He also wants to make sure that Palestinians moving back up to the north can't bring weapons with them. These are, you know, issues that the negotiators are trying to resolve, are trying to bridge. But as you can see, it's really complicated.
CHANG: Extremely complicated. And the stakes for these talks are very high, not just for Gaza, but for the region as a whole, right?
LONSDORF: Yeah.
CHANG: Like, Kat, how much concern is there in Israel right now about a wider regional conflict if these cease-fire talks fail?
LONSDORF: There's a lot of concern here. People have been bracing for a retaliation from Iran and its proxies after the killing of both a high-level Hezbollah commander and the leader of Hamas a few weeks ago. Many think that if these cease-fire talks fail, that retaliation is coming, and it'll be relatively big. You know, the other part I should mention is that internal attacks have been an increasing issue here lately. Just last night, for example, a man detonated a bomb in a backpack here in Tel Aviv. It seems like it maybe detonated early, and the man was the only one who was killed. But Israeli police have deemed it a terror attack and Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant groups took credit for it, calling it basically a suicide bombing. Palestinian militant groups have not dispatched suicide bombers to Israel in many, many years, so people here are on edge.
CHANG: Understandably so. Well, Michele, the U.S. has pinned so much on these talks succeeding. What happens if there is no deal at the end of this week?
KELEMEN: Well, Blinken says the Biden administration won't give up, but there doesn't really seem to be a Plan B. There's a lot at stake, as Kat was just saying, including regional security. And Secretary Blinken says, the longer this goes on, the more that incidents can happen that could derail this. That's why there's such a sense of urgency.
CHANG: Well, Kat, the aim of these talks has been to end the war in Gaza, which, of course, started with the Hamas attack last October that killed about 1,200 people. This war, as we've mentioned, has cost at least 40,000 more lives in Gaza. What is the situation in Gaza right now as these talks possibly enter the final stretch?
LONSDORF: Well, I mean, it's dire and getting worse. The war is still very much happening there. More than a hundred Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since this new round of talks started last Thursday, according to health officials there. And the remaining 115 Israeli hostages are languishing and maybe even dying in captivity. Our producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, spoke with 45-year-old Hosni Abu Hajayer. He's a civilian in Gaza, a father of five.
HOSNI ABU HAJAYER: (Speaking Arabic).
LONSDORF: He said that all they want is a cease-fire, that they are exhausted physically and mentally after more than 10 months of war. He said Netanyahu and Hamas are both being stubborn, and meanwhile, it's civilians like him and his children who are caught in the middle and suffering. And that's really the reality here with these cease-fire talks is that on the ground in Gaza, there are civilians on both sides, Palestinians and also Israeli hostages, who really don't have days or weeks to wait while details get hammered out.
CHANG: That is NPR's Kat Lonsdorf and Michele Kelemen in Tel Aviv. Thank you to both of you.
KELEMEN: Thank you.
LONSDORF: Thanks, Ailsa.
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