From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
US indicates Israeli strikes against Hamas leaders not harming ceasefire talks
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller indicates that Washington does not believe Israeli strikes targeting Hamas’s leadership harm the ongoing hostage negotiations.
Miller is pressed on whether the strikes harm the talks during a press briefing and begins his response by saying that he won’t speculate on the matter.
However, he then notes that the talks have still continued, even after the weekend strike targeting Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif.
“Despite various public statements that are made by both sides on this conflict from from time to time, what we have actually seen in the negotiations is [them] pushing forward to try to get a deal,” Miller says.
“Obviously, people can always pull out in negotiations for their own reasons. We hope that won’t happen. We haven’t seen it happen yet. What we have seen has made us believe we can get to a deal, which of course does not mean that we will, but we’re going to continue to try to push for one,” he adds.
