According to the White House, a US envoy will embark on a trip this week aiming to progress a hostage deal and seek assurances from Israel regarding a potential offensive in Rafah.
A US envoy will seek to advance a hostage deal and press for assurances from Israel on a Rafah offensive in a trip this week, the White House said on Tuesday.
Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, will hold talks on Tuesday in Egypt and on Thursday in Israel, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
The trip comes after Qatar and Egypt mediated a proposal to free hostages seized during the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel in return for a pause in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Palestinian militant group.
McGurk will hold talks “to see if we can’t get this hostage deal in place,” Kirby told reporters.
Israel has rebuffed repeated calls to spare Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where some 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering, many in makeshift tents.
McGurk will reiterate President Joe Biden’s concern about an operation in Rafah without protection for civilians, Kirby said.
“Under the current circumstances, without properly accounting for the safety and security of those refugees, we continue to believe that an operation in Rafah would be a disaster,” Kirby said.
Kirby cited McGurk’s travel as he defended the latest US veto of a UN Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza — a stance rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think most of the people around the world would love to see those hostages home with their families. And if we just voted, went along with this resolution, the chances of doing that would be greatly reduced,” Kirby said.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
