Antony Blinken

Following the interruptions, Blinken answered a series of questions about Israel, expressing confidence that an announced ceasefire would move forward on Sunday.

"So on the ceasefire, yes, I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said on Sunday," Blinken said. "

Biden said the elements of this deal were what he laid out in detail this past May, which was embraced by countries around the world and endorsed overwhelmingly by the UN Security Council. 

While Blinken criticized settlements—citing continued expansion and extremist violence—his analysis was a far more nuanced goodbye to the region than former Secretary of State John Kerry.

Emotional protests disrupt Secretary of State Antony Blinken's DC speech as demonstrators condemn his Gaza policy, branding him "Bloody Blinken, secretary of genocide."

The plan is expected to include a proposed alternative to Hamas's rule, involving the Palestinian Authority and Arab states.

Blinken reiterated the deal's framework is based on the agreement President Biden put forward in May, though he declined to discuss any of the specifics. 

Whether you call it an obsession or antisemitism, social convenience or just ignorance, the international silence on the Arab genocide in Sudan adds up to the same thing: an egregious moral outrage.

Challenges remain, Blinken said, but so far, the mechanism put forth by France and the US is functioning well, as more than one-third of Israeli forces have withdrawn from Lebanon.

Blinken never seemed to find an occasion to speak in such a direct manner at an earlier stage when it might have made a difference.

It remains unclear how close the two sides remain, with some signs of movement but little indication of a shift in some of the key demands that have so far blocked any truce for more than a year.