US 'cautiously optimistic' about Gaza ceasefire – DW – 03/16/2024

America On Friday (03/15/2024) he said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the scope of the ceasefire. Loop Talks between Israel and the terror group were seen as positive Hamas Continue.

“We're cautiously optimistic that things are moving in the right direction, but that doesn't mean it's over,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a news conference.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected the latest draft deal proposed by Hamas, which calls for an end to the war, with his office deeming Hamas's demands “still unrealistic”.

However, an Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Doha to continue negotiations for a possible cease-fire, the impasse of which Hamas blames the Israeli government.

“The devil is in the details,” Kirby says

“There are still active talks, and now it's good to have another chance to meet in Doha,” Kirby said, not without highlighting that “the devil is in the details and nothing is negotiated until everything is negotiated.”

The US will not participate in the talks in Doha.

“The fact that we're not going to have a physical delegation should not be taken as a sign that this is not a very positive step. We think it might be,” Kirby said.

According to EFE sources familiar with the draft from Cairo, all Israeli “women, children, sick and elderly” kidnapped in the first phase of the deal will be released in exchange for 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The end of this first phase, according to the sources, will lead to a permanent ceasefire – whereby Hamas agrees to release the remaining soldiers held captive – and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip.

gs (efe, afp)