Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip, a White House official said Wednesday.
“There’s a good proposal in front of both parties and they have to accept that proposal so we can implement it. We’re closer than we’ve ever been,” national security adviser John Kirby told reporters.
He added that the United States of America (US) believes both sides “need to do the final bit of work” to reach a conclusion.
US President Joe Biden said on May 31 that Israel presented a three-phase deal to end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a ceasefire, an exchange of hostages and prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
More than 39,600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched an assault on Gaza on October 7 following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
The attack raised regional tensions, with the latest escalation taking place last Wednesday when Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the Iranian capital, Tehran, a day after an Israeli strike in a suburb of Beirut killed a senior military commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
Kirby said the US is engaged in intensive diplomacy to prevent a wider escalation in the Middle East and is “monitoring developments between Iran and Israel extremely closely”.
Reiterating that the US does not want an escalation of the conflict, Kirby said that Washington has transferred significant capabilities to the region and will defend Israel if attacked.
“If Iran moves forward, as they have repeatedly said they will, we will make sure that we are ready to defend Israel in our own interests, and we believe that the adjustment of force positions ordered by the president and under the leadership of the Secretary of Defense (Lloyd Austin) will lead to good position to do that,” Kirby said.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that the US will deploy additional military assets to the Middle East ahead of possible Iranian retaliation against Israel.
