Blinken Discusses Ceasefire Proposal With Israeli Officials as Air Strikes Pound Hamas

Jerusalem, 3 June, 2024 (TPS) -- Israeli fighter jets struck more than 50 Hamas targets across Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said on Monday.

In the Rafah area, soldiers uncovered terror infrastructure and weapons storage facilities. In one raid, a large number of shoulder-fired RPG missiles.

In central Gaza, soldiers eliminated a Hamas sniper post.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed a US ceasefire proposal in separate phone calls with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and War Cabinet member Benny Gantz.

President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a three-phase plan to end the war featuring the release of Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, the return of Palestinians to their Gaza communities and the expansion of humanitarian aid deliveries. The proposal, however, does not remove Hamas from Gaza, nor does it address the threat of Hezbollah and the thousands of Israelis forced to evacuate communities in northern Israel.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 124 remaining hostages, 39 are believed dead.