- Negotiators met in Cairo on a proposal for Hamas to release hostages for a temporary ceasefire.
- He said a ceasefire of about six weeks would “go a long way” to ease the burden on Palestinians.
- Talks come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says “there is a date” for Rafah invasion
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The United States is taking a new round of hostage negotiations “very seriously” after CIA Director Bill Burns visited Cairo and negotiators presented their latest offer to Hamas leaders.
“A proposal has been made to Hamas and we are waiting for a response from Hamas,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a phone call Monday.
The proposal came after a weekend of shuttle diplomacy, and negotiators were expected to have some time to convey the offer to Hamas amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
“We’re taking this very, very seriously and we really want to close the hostage deal as quickly as possible,” Kirby said.
Palestinians walk through the destruction following an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 8, 2024. Negotiators met last weekend in Cairo to discuss a plan for the release of hostages in exchange for another temporary. Stop the fire
“The administration is doing everything possible to negotiate an agreement that ensures the release of all hostages and leads to an immediate ceasefire, and there is simply no higher priority,” he said.
He declined to go into details of the offer, which comes amid continued U.S. pressure for another temporary ceasefire in exchange for the return of more hostages taken by Hamas fighters after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
axios reported that the latest offer would secure the release of 40 hostages in exchange for a ceasefire that would last 60 days.
The president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will meet with family members of the hostages at the White House later Monday.
A hostage deal is difficult but “doable,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Monday after a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.
‘It’s a tough deal. “This is an agreement that we may not like, but it is feasible and therefore needs to be reached,” he said.
The tense negotiations come after Biden delivered some of his most scathing criticism to date of Israel after the Israel Defense Forces killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in a missile attack.
Axios reported that the latest offer negotiated by CIA Director William Burns would secure the release of 40 hostages in exchange for a ceasefire that would last 60 days.
“We are taking this very, very seriously and we really want to close the hostage deal as soon as possible,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
The Biden administration has been pressuring Israel over its planned invasion of Rafah. ‘There is a date,’ said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
US officials warn of the cost to civilians if the IDF carries out an invasion of Rafah. Here, Palestinians walk among the destruction following an Israeli air and ground offensive in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Monday, April 8, 2024.
The Biden administration continues to publicly and privately urge against an Israeli invasion of Rafah amid the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not backed down from his promise to invade, saying: “There is a date.”
He wants to insert a ground force as part of the effort to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, while Biden’s camp warns of serious risks to 1.4 million civilians.
‘It will happen. There is a date,” Netanayahu said in a videotaped statement.
The United States continues to push for more humanitarian aid amid widespread hunger in Gaza. Kirby said more than 300 aid trucks arrived yesterday, but the United States wants to see between 300 and 350 trucks a day.
The United States says there is still no credible plan to protect civilians during an invasion. Israel says it is purchasing 40,000 tents.