US Secretary of State Antony Blinken 'hopeful' Hamas will accept 'extraordinarily generous' deal on Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that he was hopeful Hamas would accept an "extraordinarily generous" offer to halt Israel's Gaza offensive in return for the release of hostages.

"Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel," Blinken said in Riyadh at the World Economic Forum, during his  to Saudi Arabia.

 The US Secretary of State was quoted as saying by AFP that in this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire was Hamas.

"They have to decide -- and they have to decide quickly," Blinken said. "I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision."

“The most effective way to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to alleviate the suffering of children, women and men, and to create space for a more just and durable solution is to get a cease-fire and the hostages out," reported PTI quoting Blinken.

"We can have a fundamental change in the dynamic" in more than half a year of bloodshed, Blinken said.

A delegation from Hamas was due  in Egypt on Monday in a meeting sought by Qatar to broker a deal that would halt the Israeli offensive and see hostages freed.

Meanwhile, Blinken said that the US and Saudi Arabia have done “intensive work together” over the last month to end the conflict.