US criticises Israeli PM's truce stance

JERUSALEM, Aug 21 (BBC): A senior US administration official has pushed back at reported comments by Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing the Israeli prime minister of making "maximalist statements" that are "not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line".
It comes in the midst of an intense round of regional diplomacy by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as Washington tries to drive forward progress on a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
On Monday, Mr Blinken had talks lasting three hours with the Israeli leader in Jerusalem.
He later said Mr Netanyahu had accepted Washington's so-called "bridging proposal" aimed at trying to solve sticking points and bring Israel and Hamas closer to a deal.
According to an Israeli media report, Mr Netanyahu later told a meeting of hostage families that he "convinced" Mr Blinken that the deal must see Israeli troops remaining in areas of Gaza he described as "strategic military and political assets", including along the southern border with Egypt.
The reported comments appear to have irritated the US administration.
"We saw the prime minister's comments, specifically on some of these items," said the senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"We're certainly not going to negotiate in public but what I can say is that the only thing Secretary Blinken and the United States are convinced of is the need for getting a ceasefire proposal across the finish line."
"We fully expect that… if Hamas were also to accept this bridging proposal, discussions will continue on some of the more technical... details.
The daughter of one of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were brought back from Gaza by Israel's military on Tuesday has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting "political priorities" ahead of a ceasefire and hostage release deal.