Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to the American ‘bridging proposal’ on the release of hostages after a three-hour meeting with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem. In a statement, Netanyahu’s Office said, the Prime Minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the current American proposal on the release of the hostages, which takes into account Israel’s security needs. The statement marked the first time Netanyahu publicly endorsed the latest US formula. Blinken termed his meeting with Netanyahu a very constructive one and said that the Israeli Prime Minister has confirmed to him that Israel accepts the bridging proposal. He also said, it’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same. And then the parties, with the help of the mediators – the United States, Egypt, and Qatar – have to come together and complete the process of reaching clear understandings about how they’ll implement the commitments that they’ve made under this agreement. The US proposal enables the finalising of a hostages-for-ceasefire deal by the end of this week.