The United States expressed cautious optimism about the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha, Qatar, and the agreement proposed by Hamas, although the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office described it as “unrealistic.”
The latest proposal put forward by Hamas is “certainly within the limits – in broad strokes – within the limits of the deal that we have been working on now for several months. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters: “I don’t want to go into more detail than that.”
He indicated that the United States will not participate in the in-person meetings that will be held next week in Doha, but it participated in the talks and will remain involved.
“The fact that we will not have a delegation there should not be taken as an indication that this is not a serious and positive step forward. We believe it may be so.”
Despite his optimism, he acknowledged the painful process that the hostage families are going through as they watch the operation take its course: “It’s just another set of painful days that we have to wait out, and we understand that too. … We are cautiously optimistic that things are moving in a good direction, but that’s not the case.” “It means the matter is over, and we will have to stay with this until the end.”
