Israel is reported to be close to accepting a six-week ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior Biden administration official told several US news outlets on Saturday, two days after more than 100 Palestinians died while attempting to access aid trucks in the territory.
The official said that there is a “framework deal” and Israel has “more or less accepted” a ceasefire to allow for the release of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza and to allow aid into the territory that has been devastated by four months of bombardment, killing more than 30,000 people.
Israel has reportedly said that ceasefire talks would not continue until Hamas presents a list of the hostages, including who is alive and who is dead.
More talks are planned in Cairo, with negotiators from the US, Israel, Egypt and Hamas expected to attend, a diplomatic source told CNN, with or without the involvement of Qatar.
Signs that the administration is more willing to make public its push for a ceasefire came Saturday when Reuters reported that vice-president Kamala Harris will meet with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz at the White House on Monday.
“The vice-president will express her concern over the safety of the as many as 1.5 million people in Rafah,” the official said, adding that Israel also had a “right to defend itself in the face of continued Hamas terrorist threats”.
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