Blinken: Gaza cease-fire could have been reached earlier

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told CNN that a Gaza cease-fire could have been reached earlier.

Responding to a question Wednesday about whether the deal, if reached earlier, could have saved many lives, he replied, "Should this have happened months ago? Yes. Could it have happened months ago? Yes."

He added that Israel and Hamas had made decisions that complicated the situation, but emphasized that "predominantly it's been Hamas," which he described as refusing to engage in recent months.

Despite the challenges, Blinken confirmed that the US managed to push the process forward and is now "on the brink" of an agreement.

The Qatari prime minister announced that mediation efforts by Doha, Cairo and Washington resulted in an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The deal, which is expected to be implemented in three phases starting Sunday, was approved Wednesday by Hamas.

The agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian prisoners, as well as the implementation of a cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel delayed a Cabinet vote on the deal Thursday, saying Hamas reneged on parts of the deal.

-'IF NETANYAHU STOPS THIS DEAL, HE WILL CONFRONT TRUMP'

Palestinian National Initiative President Mustafa Barghouti also told CNN he believes the cease-fire agreement will take place but does not underestimate the possibility of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "torpedoing the agreement," as he has done four times previously.

"But this time he knows very well that if he wants to stop this deal, he will be confronting (incoming US President Donald) Trump," Barghouti said.

He criticized Netanyahu for delaying a similar deal last year, which Barghouti believes could have saved lives.

"The sad thing is that we could have had this deal back on the 3rd of July last year," he said, adding that if it had been reached, "at least 10,000 Palestinian lives" could have been spared.

Barghouti holds Netanyahu personally responsible for the delay, claiming that not only did it result in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, but also contributed to the loss of many Israeli lives, including some Israeli prisoners, "because of Israeli bombardment."