Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence during his final remarks to the State Dept. press corps on Thursday morning that the ceasefire and hostage deal will move forward.
"So on the ceasefire, yes, I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said on Sunday," Blinken said.
In a negotiation this challenging, there may be loose ends and "we're tying up that loose end as we speak," he said.
Blinken added he's been in contact all morning with Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and Qatari partners.
He touted the ceasefire as an example of "the power and the purpose of American leadership and American diplomacy," repeating President Biden's words that a day of success has arrived.
Blinken reiterated the biggest impediments to the deal really have been Hamas and its refusal to get to yes.
"Now, have there been moments when Israel has done things or taken actions that have made life more complicated, more difficult? Yes," Blinken said. "But broadly speaking, and especially in the last months until we got to success, Hamas has been the major impediment."
Blinken said Hamas held back at various points because it saw or hoped that public, international pressure was mounting on Israel and it could just wait it out, and that pressure would get to a point where Israel would have to exceed all of Hamas's demands.
While clearly the US had real differences with Israel on the way it's gone about "the necessary defense of its people and its country," Blinken said the US expressed those clearly at various points but mostly privately, as to not feed Hamas' clearly held views that they could do nothing if there was daylight between Israel and the US.
Thursday's press conference served as a moment of reflection for Blinken in the last days of his tenure.
Cabinet approval
He was questioned about any progress that's been made in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process over the last 16 years, when former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended her time in office with a press conference about hope for an enduring ceasefire.
He responded by saying "it's an enduring story" that is not likely to end any time soon.
"And if you go back over the course of many administrations, not only Secretary Rice, but so many of our predecessors, and so many of her successors, and now me, this is a story that we've been engaged in one way or another," Blinken said. "And I think each of us has probably brought the conviction to it that we could and should do everything possible to try to get to and write a better conclusion, a good conclusion to the story."
He added he strongly believes there's no substitute for US engagement and its efforts to try to move peace forward.
"And yes, we have absolutely seen both progress and promise," he noted, explaining the Biden administration did a lot of work on integration in the region prior to October 7.
And even with everything that's happened since October 7, Blinken said he believes from his work in the region, whether in Israel or Saudi Arabia or beyond, the desire to pursue integration and bringing countries together "remains strong, remains powerful, and can be a driving force for finally resolving some of these other questions, including the Palestinian question."
He said Israel's desire from day one of its founding was to be "treated like any other country in the region" and have normal relations.
Israel sees what it gains to gain from greater integration in the region following the unprecedented attacks from Iran, Blinken concluded.
"I think for the incoming administration, it'll be important to continue to show here's one path and what can be achieved by following that path," he said. "And then there's another, perpetual violence, destruction, terrorism, despair for people. That's the choice I think we've now put in place and done the work, that handing it off can be used to build a strong foundation and move down that much more positive path."
The important thing is not who gets the credit for the deal, Blinken posited, the important thing is getting the results.
"And that's exactly what we've gotten," he said, adding Hamas rejected the idea of having an initial phase of a six week ceasefire until Biden went public with his framework in May and got the world behind his plan.
The Secretary was also questioned if he regrets not being firmer on the red lines the Biden administration gave to Israel on humanitarian aid and civilian harm given the current state of Gaza.
Blinken began his answer saying it's a mistake to ascribe to "any one individual or any small number of individuals, policies that in the case of Gaza, were basically supported by an overwhelming majority of Israelis after the trauma of October 7."
It's challenging to make progress without understanding how deeply traumatized both Israeli and Palestinian societies are, he said.
The Biden administration had certain priorities going into the war which it achieved, including preventing a broader war.
Blinken said at various moments throughout the last 15 months, "we've been right on the edge of having that wider war."
"And because of American diplomacy, because of American deterrence, because of America's ability to mobilize others, we've avoided it," he added.
Though he described operating in Gaza as a "unique environment," he also said that doesn't obviate Israel's responsibilities, doesn't excuse things that haven't been done or that should have been done.
Blinken's remarks were continuously interrupted by independent journalist Sam Husseini, who was escorted out of the briefing room after shouting questions about the Geneva Convention and if it applies to Palestinians.
This is a developing story.