The White House said Monday the uptick of aid trucks into Gaza represents progress, but that it must be increased and sustained over time to meet the humanitarian needs in the besieged enclave.
The US has pressed Israel to expand truck crossings into Gaza to between 300 and 350 a day, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. Israel announced more than 300 trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on Monday, the highest volume since the current conflict began.
“That’s a good start but still not up to the upper range of” what the US is pressing for, he said. “What matters is how it can be sustained over time.”
He said the Biden administration would continue pressing Israel on making changes to its deconfliction mechanism to allow aid workers to access areas of Gaza following a strike that killed several World Central Kitchen workers earlier this month. Kirby said the US continues to work its way through Israel’s investigation of the strike that killed aid workers from the World Central Kitchen, but hasn’t concluded its review of the document.
He said the date for an in-person meeting between top US and Israeli officials to discuss plans for a ground invasion of Rafah had yet to be reached, but said the US still does not see indications that a major ground invasion of the southern Gaza city is imminent.
Hostage talks: As optimism appears to grow for a deal that would secure the release of hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting, Kirby confirmed that CIA Director Bill Burns had been in Cairo over the weekend to continue a “serious round” of talks. He said a proposal had been presented to Hamas and that officials were still awaiting a response.
He said it has typically taken several days to get a response from Hamas in previous back-and-forths over a hostage agreement. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan plans to meet with families of American hostages on Monday evening, Kirby said.
