The White House said Wednesday that it is “the closest” to a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.
“There is a good proposal before both sides, and both sides need to accept that proposal so we can put it into practice,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. “We’re as close as we think we’ve ever been.”
Kirby added that gaps in negotiations have narrowed and the U.S. believes a deal can be reached, although he did not offer a timeline. The gaps are related to “implementation details that need to be resolved,” he said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said Tuesday at a press conference that “negotiations have now reached the final phase.”
All parties “agreed on the urgency of bringing this process to a close,” Blinken said. “Concluding this agreement and avoiding any action that could in any way disrupt it is the only way to end the conflict in Gaza and bring calm to the region. It is critical that all parties work to finalize an agreement as quickly as possible.”
Hamas still holds about 115 hostages that Israel wants to release in exchange for an exchange of Palestinian prisoners and a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 39,000 people have died since the war began on October 7, according to officials. local health services.
The agreement, offered by President Biden and approved by the United Nations, calls for an initial phase of release of the most vulnerable hostages and prisoners, along with a temporary ceasefire, while negotiations would continue for a lasting ceasefire and the release of more hostages. .
Negotiations have moved closer and closer in recent weeks, and Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month when he visited Washington to fill in the final gaps.
But the negotiations were threatened by a resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East. Israel last week assassinated a top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Iran also blamed Israeli forces for the death of Hamas’s top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, last Wednesday.
Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, has vowed revenge, as has its network of regional representatives.
Kirby said on Wednesday that the United States was working “very hard with intense diplomacy to try to avoid escalation” in the Middle East and achieve a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
“We are engaged in a pretty intense performance together to avoid escalation in the region,” Kirby said. ‘We don’t want to see an attack and we will continue to work through diplomatic channels to see what we can do to reduce tensions there.’
He added that if there is an attack, the US “will defend Israel with a full range of military capabilities.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
