Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 2, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 2, 2024
Hamas official brushes off Netanyahu’s approval of new hostage talks in Cairo as ’empty statements’
Protesters rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, marking 300 days in captivity for the hostages in Gaza and demanding an immediate deal for their return, on August 1, 2024. (Dana Reany)
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri brushes off Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel will send a team to Cairo in the coming days to continue indirect hostage-ceasefire talks with the terror group.
“Netanyahu does not want to stop the war and is using these empty statements to cover up his crimes and evade their consequences,” he tells Reuters.
Netanyahu’s statement was issued immediately after a Channel 12 news report claimed he rejected calls from his security chiefs to seize the current opportunity for a deal, and after Axios reported that US President Joe Biden urged Netanyahu in their call yesterday to stop escalating tensions in the region and move immediately toward a deal.
