The U.S. is making an 11th-hour effort to resuscitate some aspects of the halted cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas weeks before the presidential election and as Israel’s invasion of neighboring Lebanon intensifies, according to a senior State Department official.
Since negotiations fell apart over the summer, Americans have shifted to focus on a post-war plan for Israel and Gaza. The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity late Monday to preview Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s strategy, said that stakeholders have reached consensus on some aspects of the so-called day-after plan and that the U.S. is hopeful that this progress will create goodwill to get parties back to the table on a ceasefire.