US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says while Washington is “wary about making predictions or promises” about the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza, adding the current negotiations are “close”, Al Jazeera reports.
“With enough pushing from the outside mediators and a commitment from Israel and Hamas, we can get it done,” Sullivan told ABC News.
“Netanyahu made clear at this moment that Israel is ready to do this deal. So the final piece of the puzzle, from my perspective, is for Hamas, ultimately, to come forward with a commitment on the release of hostages in that first phase in the multi-phase deal,” he said.
Sullivan explained that if they can get that done, “we can have a ceasefire, we can get hostages home, and we can get a surge of humanitarian assistance in Gaza”. He added that the current obstacles to the deal were the names of captives and prisoners that would be released in the first phase.