WASHINGTON: Negotiations in Cairo to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage deal are still pressing ahead, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said, adding that the discussions will continue on the working-group level for the next few days to iron out specific issues.
Speaking to reporters in a virtual briefing, Kirby pushed back on suggestions that the talks have broken down, and said, on the contrary, that they were “constructive.”
“The talks actually progressed to a point where they felt like the next logical step was to have working groups at lower levels to sit down to hammer out these finer details,” Kirby said.
Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s top Middle East aide at the White House who has been participating in the talks, will soon leave Cairo after staying an extra day to start the working-group talks, Kirby said.
One of the issues to be tackled by the working groups will be the exchange of hostages Hamas is holding and Palestinian prisoners that Israel is holding, Kirby said.
He said the details to be settled included how many hostages may be exchanged, their identities, and the pace of their potential release.
Months of on-off talks have failed to produce an agreement to end Israel’s military campaign in Gaza or free the remaining hostages seized by Hamas in the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
The latest round of negotiations came under the threat of a regional escalation. Over the weekend, Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel as Israel’s military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a larger attack.
But Kirby said the cross-border warfare over the weekend has not had an impact on the talks.
Key sticking points in ongoing talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar include an Israeli presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5-km-long (9-mile-long) stretch of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.
“There continues to be progress and our team on the ground continues to describe the talks as constructive,” Kirby said.
Two Egyptian sources on Sunday said Israel expressed reservations about several of the Palestinian detainees Hamas is demanding be released, and Israel demanded their exit of Gaza if they are released.
More than 40,400 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo continue to iron out details, White House says
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Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo continue to iron out details, White House says
- John Kirby: ‘The talks actually progressed to a point where they felt like the next logical step was to have working groups at lower levels to sit down to hammer out these finer details’
- One of the issues to be tackled by the working groups will be the exchange of hostages Hamas is holding and Palestinian prisoners that Israel is holding
Israeli military kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank
- Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty
AL-MUGHAYYIR: Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, while the military said soldiers had responded to stone throwing.
The Ramallah-based Health Ministry announced the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Al-Nassan by Israeli fire in Al-Mughayyir in a statement on Friday.
Shortly after, Israel’s military said its forces had come to the village after Palestinians “hurled stones toward Israelis, set tires on fire and blocked access routes to the area.”
The military said dozens of Palestinians were throwing stones upon their arrival, including one who posed “an imminent threat.”
“The soldiers responded by firing warning shots into the air, followed by fire to eliminate the terrorist,” the military said, adding it had set up roadblocks in the area to search for another suspect.
Amin Abu Aliya, mayor of Al-Mughayyir, said that the army raided the village when people began to exit mosques after Friday prayers.
“This young man (Nassan) was exiting the mosque where he was praying with the people, the military vehicle stopped in front of the mosque, they opened the back door and started shooting at him directly,” Abu Aliya said.
Abu Aliya added that following the incident, the army introduced a curfew for the village, closing all shops and setting up a new checkpoint at the village’s entrance.
He pointed to the heavy military presence in his village in recent months, which he said often protected Israeli settlers who recently set up nearby outposts and took land from Al-Mughayyir farmers.
In September, a settler who the military said was an off-duty soldier shot and killed a 20-year-old who the army said had thrown stones in Al-Mughayyir.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Violence there has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war and has not subsided despite the truce that came into effect in October.
Since October 2023, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Health Ministry figures.
