U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will travel to the region this week for continued talks on securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official said on Tuesday.
Brett McGurk © ACP
U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will travel to the region this week for continued talks on securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official said on Tuesday.
McGurk, who participated in earlier negotiations, will visit Egypt on Wednesday and Israel on Thursday, the official said.
The meetings are the latest in ongoing talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is also proposing a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major ground offensive by its ally Israel in Rafah, after signaling a U.S. veto on a rival resolution on Tuesday that it said could jeopardize talks.
The United States does "not plan to rush" to a vote in order to allow time for negotiations, a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
U.S. officials have said the ongoing hostage talks have been productive but have required more ongoing work.
Reporting by Steve Holland
Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people on Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said, as Israel pressed its campaign against Hezbollah and the Iran-backed group claimed fresh attacks against Israeli forces in the south.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan escalated his rhetorical offensive against Israel on Wednesday, telling lawmakers from his ruling AK Party that Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Syria had reached a point where they "also threaten Turkey », a claim that says far more about Turkish domestic politics than it does about regional security realities.
Benjamin Netanyahu will seek re-election this year, his party announced on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wasn't sure if the Israeli prime minister would stand again.
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