ISRAEL is prepared to storm refugee-filled Rafah within 72 hours if no ceasefire-hostage release deal is reached with Hamas.
Israeli state-owned Kan TV news reported that a Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo for discussions on the deal.
While details of the proposed deal have not been made public in full, it is thought the outline involves Hamas initially returning between 30 and 40 vulnerable hostages including women, children and those aged over 50, and Israel releasing scores of Palestinian detainees, accompanied by a pause in fighting for 40 days.
Bliken was speaking in Saudi Arabia ahead of a visit to Israel this week, in what will be his seventh to the Middle East since the Israel Hamas war started in October.