The world is closely watching the ceasefire talks in Gaza, which aim to end the war that has raged for more than 10 months. While Washington has revealed constructive progress, it has also come to light that the U.S. has requested Israel to withdraw its forces from the Gaza border with Egypt, with Israel partially agreeing to the request.
The White House stated yesterday that the talks hosted by Cairo to reach a ceasefire in Gaza have been constructive, with some progress made. The statement added that all parties must reach a point of agreement to work towards implementing the proposed deal.
John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters that discussions would continue with CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk representing Washington. Kirby emphasized that Hamas must be involved in the negotiations, saying, “We are in Cairo… they are in Cairo… we need Hamas to participate, and we need to start addressing the fundamental aspects… of these details. This will be our focus in the coming days.” Kirby noted that early indications from Cairo suggest that the talks are constructive and that they are expected to continue. He added, “Things are progressing,” denying reports that the talks were on the verge of collapse.
U.S. Request
The Axios website reported yesterday that U.S. President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza-Egypt border as part of an initial phase of the ceasefire agreement to allow talks to continue. Three Israeli officials told Axios that Netanyahu partially accepted Biden’s request, which was mentioned in their call, agreeing to relinquish a position held by Israeli forces at the border between Egypt and Gaza.
Hostage Families
Meanwhile, a delegation of hostage families in Gaza met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, urging him to finalize a truce that would allow their relatives to be released. The daughter of one of the captives said after the meeting that she feels the agreement will not be reached soon. Ella Ben-Ami stated in a press release issued by the Hostage Families Forum, “I left with a heavy and difficult impression that the truce agreement will not be reached soon. I fear for the lives of my father and the women there, and for everyone; we must reach an agreement. If what I say here pushes the Prime Minister to fight harder, then that is what should happen. He must be 200% involved in this struggle because these are his citizens, and it is his duty to bring them home.”
Yelena Trovanov, whose son Sasha was kidnapped to Gaza, said Netanyahu looked into her eyes and said he would do everything possible to bring her only son and everyone else home alive.
