White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has said the Biden administration will not allow “extremists”, including in Israel, to push Gaza ceasefire talks off course, and further accused Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of making false claims, Reuters reports.

Kirby said that Smotrich’s claims that a ceasefire deal would be a surrender to Hamas or that hostages should not be exchanged for prisoners are “dead wrong” and said the minister was misleading the Israeli public.