Tuesday Briefing

Antony J. Blinken, left, the U.S. secretary of state, with President Isaac Herzog of Israel at a Tel Aviv news conference yesterday.Credit…Pool photo by Kevin Mohatt

Israel accepted the latest cease-fire proposal, the U.S. said

Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had accepted a “bridging proposal” aimed at closing the gap between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire deal for Gaza. Hamas officials did not immediately comment, but they have called the proposal slanted toward Israel.

A spokesman for Netanyahu confirmed that the prime minister had told Blinken that Israel had agreed to the proposal, which U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators presented last week. Blinken discussed it during a three-hour meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

What’s next: Negotiations are expected to resume this week in Egypt. Blinken said the talks represented “probably the best, maybe the last” chance to bring the Israeli hostages home and “put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.”

Related:

• Israel said it had carried out strikes across central and southern Gaza. Palestinian officials said the strikes had killed 25 people since Sunday.

• Most Columbia University students who were arrested or faced discipline for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations will be able to return to campus this fall.

• Hamas’s military wing and Islamic Jihad took responsibility for what they said was a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv late Sunday.

🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION 2024

The presidential election is less than 80 days away. This is what we’re watching.

The Democratic National Convention’s opening night

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, thanking President Biden, whom she is replacing on the party’s ticket, for his “lifetime of service to our nation.” She added, “When we fight, we win,” words that have fast become a rallying cry for Democrats.