US says there is 'space' to reach Gaza hostage deal

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US said Wednesday there is a space to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on a deal to release hostages in exchange for a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip.

"We do think that there is space to reach an agreement here. We are going to continue to stay engaged in this matter," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said when asked about Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz's remarks that there were "promising early signs of progress" on a new deal.

Noting that the US wants to see the hostages released and a pause in the fighting, Miller said: "We want to see a deal struck."

Gantz said Israel will continue fighting in Gaza even into the holy month of Ramadan, which will begin March 10.

"We want to see an agreement reached. We want to see it reached as soon as possible. That would include of course before Ramadan," said Miller.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas. The ensuing Israeli war has killed at least 29,092 victims and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Nearly 70,000 people have been injured.

Less than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.