Despite the stumble, Washington: It is possible to reach an agreement on Gaza
After the talks hosted by Cairo on reaching a deal on Gaza faltered, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday, March 5, that it was possible to overcome the obstacles that prevent reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, adding that from the point of view Washington, it is possible to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The spokesman also said that Secretary Anthony Blinken discussed with Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war government, during a meeting held on Tuesday the need to act urgently in order to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He added that Blinken and Gantz also discussed efforts to reach an agreement on a six-week ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
For his part, the leader of the Hamas movement, Osama Hamdan, said on Tuesday that the path of negotiations with Israel to reach a truce in the Gaza Strip "we will not allow it to be open without a horizon" at a time when the mediators are struggling to reach an agreement to stop the fighting before the beginning of the month of Ramadan.
Hamdan stressed during a press conference in Beirut, "We will not allow the path of negotiations to be open without a horizon as the aggression and starvation war continues against our people," stressing that "what the enemy failed to achieve on the battlefield, he will not achieve at the negotiating table."
US President Joe Biden announced earlier Tuesday that the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Israeli prisoners is now in the hands of Hamas.
He added that the ceasefire is necessary to bring more aid into Gaza.
He also told reporters that more aid must be brought into the besieged Strip.
This comes after the faltering talks hosted by Cairo between Hamas and mediators to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.
A Hamas leader revealed that negotiators from the movement will remain in Cairo for another day.
He said that the negotiators would stay for further talks at the request of the mediators so that the ceasefire talks would continue after two days without a solution.
The leader also told Reuters, "The delegation will remain in Cairo on Tuesday for further talks, and it is expected that this round of talks will be concluded at the end of the day."
Cairo News Channel quoted a source saying that "there are difficulties facing the discussions," but they continue.
The last prisoner exchange agreement between the two sides was held in late last November, which then led to the release of 105 Israeli prisoners held by Hamas on October 7 in exchange for the release of about 240 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
While 130 Israeli prisoners remain in Gaza, 30 of them are believed to have died, according to Israeli estimates.