White House Says Progress In Ceasefire Negotiations In Gaza Strip

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - "There is progress" in negotiating to ensure a ceasefire in the trapped Gaza Strip and the release of hostages who are still being held," the White House said on Friday, August 23.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said US officials carried out a "constructive discussion" on Thursday, August 22 evening in Cairo with talks continuing there the following day.

"The negotiation process is actually moving forward. The conversation is going according to the agenda that we have explained previously in terms of the next round of talks. Now, the important thing is that all parties are involved in the talks, and that these parties continue to work so that the ceasefire can be implemented," Kirby told reporters, quoted from Antara, Saturday 24 August.

Kirby denied reports that the talks were near deadlocked, saying the report was "inaccurate."

"The early signs in Cairo, and these are early signs, are that discussions have been constructive, but there are still further talks that will take place over the weekend," he said.

"We now need both sides to unite and work towards the implementation of the ceasefire," he added.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday (20/8) called for an end to the move in what he called Benjamin Netanyahu's chief government authority's attempt to "bobotage" the talks, and urged Netanyahu to reach an agreement "currently".

He urged Netanyahu to come directly to talks in Cairo, saying 'the only reason he didn't do it was because he no longer had a conscience'.

When asked by Anadolu that Netanyahu was negotiating with bad intentions, Kirby said: "We have had constructive conversations with our Israeli counterparts in recent days," pointing to a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu on Wednesday, August 21.

"I will consider it a constructive conversation, but as I said before, I am happy to repeat it, that we are in Cairo. They are in Cairo," Kirby said.

"We need Hamas to participate, and we need to focus on important details to get this done. That's what we're focused on here in the coming days over the weekend," he added.

The White House said at a time when Biden and Netanyahu spoke, Biden stressed to Netanyahu "involving him to finalize a ceasefire and release of hostages and discuss upcoming talks in Cairo to remove remaining obstacles."

The final round of mediated negotiations ended Friday in Doha, Qatar, with the US telling parties what the White House described as the "last bridge proposal" submitted to Israel and Hamas.

Hamas claims that the proposal must be consistent with Biden-backed principles on May 31.

A senior Biden administration official said talks this week will seek to finalize negotiations that have been going on for months.

Details of proposals submitted by the US (from negotiations in Doha) remain kept secret. Hamas has since rejected it, saying that the proposal is only in line with the new requirements set by Netanyahu.

Hamas said that "the proposal fits Netanyahu's terms and is in line with him, especially his rejection of the permanent ceasefire, (rejection of) a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and insists on continuing the occupation at the Netzarim Intersection, Rafah Crossing, and Philadelphia Corridor."

Hamas refers to two land routes in Gaza, one of which was recently built by Israel and separates the coastal territory into the north and south.

Philadelphia Corridor follows the Gaza-Egypt border. Rafah border crossings are along the Philadelphia Corridor.

Egypt insisted Israel should withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor and the Rafah border crossing, but Netanyahu's office on Thursday said he was "committing on the principle that Israel would control the corridor to prevent Hamas from rearming its group."

Hamas has long insisted that Israeli forces fully withdraw from Gaza and the war is halted permanently as part of a ceasefire agreement.

However, Netanyahu has rejected the condition, stating that his troops will remain in Gaza as long as necessary.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure exchanges of prisoners and ceasefires, as well as to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

However, mediation efforts were stopped due to Netanyahu's refusal to fulfill Hamas' demands, namely to stop the raid on the Gaza Strip.

The talks took place amid concerns that Iran may be taking immediate retaliation for the assassination of a former Hamas political leader in Tehran late last month.

Kirby insists that the US still believes Iran is "still ready to do something if, in fact, they choose to do it."

"Therefore, we must be ready, and we are ready. We have strengthened our military capabilities in the region, and we monitor them every day," he said.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 93,000 injured in Gaza during the Israeli war which lasted more than 10 months, according to official figures. Most of the dead were women and children.

However, it is feared that the actual number of victims is much higher than the official figure, with many Gazans missing feared to die below millions of tons of debris, or buried in temporary graves.