White House says hopes Gaza ceasefire talks go ahead as planned

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday (14) that the United States expects ceasefire negotiations in Gaza to proceed as planned in the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday (15).

According to Jean-Pierre, CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East Envoy Brett McGurk will represent the United States in the negotiations. She stressed that reaching an agreement is crucial and that resuming negotiations is an important step.

“The United States will be there tomorrow. And we are ready to continue these discussions. (…) we are working 24 hours a day to achieve this, to achieve this agreement,” Jean-Pierre stressed.

Hamas said on Wednesday (14) that it would not participate in the new round of discussions. Despite the group’s decision, the White House said it was confident that ceasefire negotiations in Gaza would move forward.

The deal seeks to secure the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israel. However, disagreements over the sequence of actions and other key issues continue to impede progress.

In recent weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel maintain control over a strip of land on the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent arms smuggling.

Three senior Iranian officials said only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would prevent Iran from directly retaliating against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last month.

Source: CNN Brasil

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