**U.S.: Reiterating the Urgency of a Gaza Agreement**
**”The Agreement is a Necessity”**
The United States called on Tuesday for an accelerated and flexible approach to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, following the discovery of the bodies of six additional captives in recent days.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that there are still dozens of captives in Gaza awaiting an agreement to secure their release. He added that the time has come to finalize the agreement.
He also stated that Washington will continue to work with regional partners in the coming days to complete the deal. Miller noted that last week’s talks on Gaza made progress, emphasizing the need for both Hamas and Israel to show flexibility.
Meanwhile, the White House considered on Tuesday that the killing of the six captives, whose bodies were recovered by Israeli forces last Sunday, underscores the urgent need to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing that what happened over the weekend clearly highlights the importance of getting this done as quickly as possible, accusing Hamas of being responsible for their deaths.
In remarks to Al Arabiya, Kirby added that American statements are sincere when they say that the world is very close to an agreement regarding Gaza. He clarified that negotiations have managed to narrow the gaps concerning the deal, and efforts are underway to finalize it.
**The Bodies of 6 Captives**
It is noteworthy that the Israeli military announced on Sunday that it found the bodies of six captives in a tunnel in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, claiming that they were killed “at close range” before soldiers reached them.
Hamas, on the other hand, held Israel responsible for the captives’ deaths. In a statement on Monday, the spokesperson for Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, said that “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing the captives through military pressure instead of a deal will mean that they will return to their families in coffins.”
He also confirmed that new instructions have been issued to the captives’ guards regarding how to deal with them if the Israeli military approaches their detention sites.
Since Sunday, Israel has witnessed protests, accompanied on Monday by a partial strike in some towns and economic sectors, following the discovery of the bodies.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden stated that Netanyahu is not making sufficient efforts to reach an agreement to secure the return of the captives from the Gaza Strip.
However, Netanyahu has refused to “succumb” to increasing domestic and international pressures to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that would allow the release of captives held by Hamas, affirming his determination to continue military pressure on the movement in the Strip.
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By/radwa sherif ✏️✏️📚