Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Egyptian officials in Cairo yesterday to discuss the Israel-Hamas war. Egyptian officials are looking to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas, despite the Israel-Hamas war continuing to intensify. White House spokesperson John Kirby said of the talks in Egypt, “These are very serious discussions and negotiations, and we hope that they lead somewhere.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson to the Arab world posted Netanyahu’s message to Hamas on X: “The choice I promise to Hamas is very simple, surrender or die.” Taher Al-Nono, spokesperson for Haniyeh told Reuters, “We cannot talk about negotiations while Israel continues its aggression.”
The United States is hopeful that a cease-fire deal will be reached as Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and Hamas rocket attacks have intensified. It was reported yesterday that confirmed Palestinian deaths have surpassed 20,000 since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October. In response to the civilian death toll, Hamas launched rocket attacks targeting Tel Aviv earlier today. The Hamas rockets were shot down, with no casualties being reported.
