White House says Gaza cease-fire negotiations 'moving forward' as discussions continue in Cairo

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Negotiations to secure a cease-fire in the besieged Gaza Strip and free hostages who remain there are "moving forward," the White House said Friday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said US officials held "constructive discussions" Thursday night in Cairo with talks continuing there on Friday.

"The process is actually moving forward. It's moving forward in the way we had outlined earlier in terms of these next rounds of talks. Now, what's critical is that everybody participate in these talks, and that the sides continue to work towards implementation," Kirby told reporters.

Kirby denied reports that the talks are near collapse, saying they are "not accurate."

"Early signs in Cairo, and these are early signs, is that the discussions have been constructive, but there's more talks to come here over the course of the weekend," he said. "We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation," he added.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Tuesday for an end to what he said are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempts to “sabotage” the talks, urging him to strike a deal "now." He urged Netanyahu to attend the Cairo talks in-person, saying “the only reason he doesn't do it is because he no longer has a soul.”

Asked by Anadolu about suggestions that Netanyahu is negotiating in bad faith, Kirby said: "We've had constructive conversations with our Israeli counterparts in the last few days," pointing in particular to a call US President Joe Biden held with Netanyahu on Wednesday.

"I would characterize those as constructive conversations, but as I said before, I'm happy to repeat, we're in Cairo. They're in Cairo. We need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And that's what we're focused on here in the next, coming days here over the course of the weekend," he said.

The White House said at the time that during their conversation, Biden stressed to Netanyahu "the urgency of bringing the cease-fire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles."

The last round of mediated negotiations ended Friday in Doha, Qatar with the US presenting the parties with what the White House described as a "final bridging proposal" that it put on the table for Israel and Hamas, claiming it is consistent with the principles supported by Biden on May 31. A senior Biden administration official said this week's talks would seek to conclude the months-long negotiations.

The details of the proposal the US put forward remain shrouded in secrecy. But Hamas has since rejected it, saying it aligns with new conditions set by Netanyahu.

Hamas said the "proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, (of) a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction, the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor."

The Palestinian group was referring to two strips of land in Gaza, one of which was recently built by Israel and separates the coastal territory into a northern and southern section. The Philadelphi Corridor follows the Gazan-Egyptian border. The Rafah border crossing sits along the Philadelphi Corridor.

Egypt has insisted that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, and the Rafah border crossing, but Netanyahu's office said Thursday that he "is committed to the principle that Israel will control the corridor to prevent the rearmament of Hamas."

Hamas has long insisted on the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the permanent end to the war as part of any cease-fire deal. But Netanyahu has dismissed the conditions, maintaining his troops will remain in Gaza for as long as he deems necessary.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

The talks are continuing amid concerns that Iran could soon retaliate for the assassination of Hamas' former political leader in Tehran late last month.

Kiry maintained that the US continues to believe Iran is "still prepared to do something if, in fact, they choose to do something."

"Therefore we got to be prepared, and we are. We have bolstered our military capabilities in the region, and we're watching it every single day," he said.

Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 93,000 wounded in Gaza over the course of Israel’s over 10-month war, according to official figures. The vast majority of the dead have been women and children.

The true death toll, however, is feared to be significantly higher than the official tally, with many missing Gazans feared dead under the millions of tons of rubble, or buried in haphazard graves.