US pressures Israel, Hamas to resume negotiations, says Kirby

The US government is making intense efforts to persuade Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations so they can once again suspend hostilities and exchange more prisoners for hostages, said a White House spokesperson said on Sunday. “We are still working very hard, hour by hour, to see if we can bring the parties back to the table and see if we can make things happen,” John F. Kirby, strategic communications coordinator at the White House National Security Council, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We would like to see this happen today. But honestly, I just don't know. that it had failed to meet the terms of its initial agreement to begin handing over captives held in Gaza.

He said Hamas had failed to produce a list of women and children. who could be released in addition to the 105 hostages released during the initial pause in fighting. Among those still detained are eight or nine Americans. Osama Hamdan, Hamas representative in Lebanon, said Sunday that hostage negotiations would not resume until the Israeli attack ceases.

Israel has since resumed its attacks against Hamas. , and Mr. Kirby urged him to avoid civilian casualties, while crediting his forces for their efforts to do so. He said Israeli authorities were open to advice from the United States on how to make their attack more precise.

“We believe they have been receptive to our posts here in terms of testing. to minimize civilian casualties,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” He noted that Israel had issued a map directing civilians to what it considered safe zones.

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