White House presses Israel to allow more aid trucks into Gaza
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Palestinians carrying boxes of aid before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in the central Gaza Strip, on April 8.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - The White House welcomed on April 8 the arrival of more than 300 aid trucks in Gaza on April 7, but said it was pressing Israel to increase that number to around 350 a day, as talks continued on a hostage-release-and-ceasefire deal.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns was in Cairo over the weekend for a serious round of negotiations on securing the release of hostages being held in Gaza by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and Hamas was now reviewing a new proposal.
The United States hopes to forge a deal that would include a ceasefire of around six weeks in Israel’s six-month-old assault to destroy Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.
Asked if there was any reason to be more optimistic about a hostage deal, Mr Kirby told reporters: “It should be plainly obvious just by the amount of shuttle diplomacy we’re doing and our counterparts are doing, we’re taking this very, very seriously. And we really want to come to closure on a hostage deal as soon as possible.”
Hamas killed 1,200 people in its rampage into southern Israel on Oct 7,
Mr Kirby said Washington wanted to see a sustained pace of 300 to 350 aid trucks entering Gaza every day, and a better safeguarding of aid workers’ safety after last week’s Israeli air strikes killed seven World Central Kitchen staff.
“Obviously we need to see this number increase, and we need to see it sustained to really address the dire humanitarian situation,” he said.
He said Washington was still reviewing the conclusions of the Israeli military investigation into the incident.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on April 8 that Israel had yet to provide an adequate explanation for the deaths of the aid workers, an Australian citizen
Mr Kirby said US officials hoped to meet next week for delayed discussions with senior Israeli officials on plans by Israel for a ground invasion on Rafah in southern Gaza. He said Washington did not see a Rafah invasion as imminent and Israel had assured US officials it would not proceed before taking part in talks on alternatives.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan would meet Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid this week during Mr Lapid’s visit to Washington, Mr Kirby said without providing details. REUTERS
