US Believes Ceasefire In Gaza May Happen, Expect Hamas-Israel To Continue Negotiations

JAKARTA - The United States expects peace-conflict negotiations in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, between Hamas and Israel to continue as planned, the State Department said Monday, adding confidence its ceasefire agreement remains possible.

This was stated after Palestinian militant group Hamas doubted whether they would participate in Thursday's meeting held by mediators.

Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Uncle Sam's country fully expects negotiations to continue and will continue to work closely with the parties involved, adding the deal was still possible.

"We fully hope that the conversation will continue, as it should be. All negotiators must return to the negotiating table and finalize this agreement," Patel said.

Patel declined to say whether the talks would continue without Hamas, or whether Washington was working with regional partners to ensure their participation or not.

Earlier, Hamas on Sunday asked mediators to submit plans based on previous negotiations instead of engaging in new negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Last week, US, Egyptian and Qatar leaders urged Israel and Hamas to meet and negotiate on August 15 in Cairo or Doha to complete the Gaza ceasefire and the deal to release hostages.

It is known, President Joe Biden presented a three-phase ceasefire proposal in his speech on May 31. Washington and regional mediators have since tried to arrange a Gaza ceasefire agreement for the hostages, but have experienced repeated problems.

Israel launched its attack on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, most civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

On the other hand, Gazans' deaths from Israeli attacks since last October have reached 39,897 people and 92,152 others injured, with the majority female and child victims, quoted from WAFA.