US says Israel accepted 'bridging proposal' for ceasefire deal, it's Hamas' turn to agree

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to an American "bridging proposal" for a ceasefire deal in Gaza, it is now Hamas who has to agree to it.

Blinken and Netanyahu met in Tel Aviv for talks that the latter described as "positive". Israeli PM has reiterated his commitment to an American proposal on the release of the hostages currently being held by Hamas, his office said.

Blinken had earlier said this was perhaps the last opportunity to secure a ceasefire deal. Despite Americans' optimism of the deal happening any time next week, Israeli leadership and Hamas do not seem to be on the same page.

Both parties are accusing each other of blocking the deal. Earlier, Hamas accused the Israeli Prime Minister of setting new conditions, including his refusal of a complete withdrawal of forces from Gaza.

Blinken said that it is of utmost urgency that Hamas and Israel should work towards a truce and strike a hostage release deal.

"We're never giving up", the US secretary of State said, adding that further delay could lead to more hostages' deaths which may hamper any agreement.

Blinken is said to now travel to Egypt and Qatar, to try and drive forward progress on a deal. Netanyahu has reportedly informed Blinken that he plans to send a negotiating team to Cairo later this week for a new round of talks with Egyptian, Qatari, and US mediators.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continue to kill civilians in Gaza. Multiple Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 29 people, including young quintuplets, during the intervening night of Aug 17-18 and also in the afternoon.

The Israeli military launched an offensive in Gaza to destroy Hamas after the Palestinian fighter group made an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.

While Hamas' attack killed 1,200 people and 251 were taken hostage, more than 40,130 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its retaliatory attack.

In a deal agreed in November, Hamas released 105 of the hostages during a week-long ceasefire in return for some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

According to Israel, 111 hostages are still being held, 39 of whom are believed to be dead.