Kirby did not detail where progress had been made, but he did insist that there’s been momentum in the conversations among the mediators from the U.S., Israel and Hamas’ interlocutors Egypt and Qatar.
The White House said on Friday that ceasefire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend as the U.S. and Mideast allies continue to press Israel and Hamas to forge an agreement.
CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a senior adviser on the Middle East to President Joe Biden, are leading the U.S. side of negotiations that began on Thursday amid major differences between Israel and Hamas over Israel’s insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza.
