Senior US officials are in Cairo for talks to reach a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, but there are still differences between the two sides, the White House spokesman for national security affairs, John Kirby, said last night, quoted by Reuters and BTA.< /p>
Kirby said CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk were in Egypt, where they met with their Egyptian, Israeli and Jordanian counterparts last night. He added that there would be follow-up discussions in the next few days.
"We are working on this very, very hard. And there are still some differences in the positions of the two countries, but we wouldn't have sent a team there if we didn't think we had a chance,'' Kirby said. "We are trying to bridge these differences in the best possible way," he added.
Kirby also reiterated Washington's position that Israel must do more to protect civilians.
The White House national security spokesman also said he does not expect a change in Iran's behavior after the election of the relatively moderate Massoud Pezeshkian as president. Kirby added that the US is not ready to resume nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Meanwhile, the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East protested the closure of the Arab Anglican hospital "Al Ahli" in the city of Gaza as a result of the evacuation of several residential neighborhoods ordered by the Israeli military, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A statement released on behalf of the Diocese of Jerusalem said the hospital was "forced by the Israeli army to close".
Yesterday evening in the immediate vicinity of the hospital there was a large number of shootings from drones, the text says.
"There follows an announcement from the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) that the area has been declared a red zone and that everyone should immediately evacuate all buildings, including the hospital,", the statement read.
The Israeli military did not comment on the case.
New evacuation orders for Palestinian families and residents of several eastern suburbs of Gaza City triggered a new wave of displacement of thousands of people.
At a time when injured Palestinians have few options for treatment, the closure of the hospital forced Palestinian health officials to move the injured and patients to another hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, Reuters noted.
"We are protesting the closing of our hospital in the strongest possible way. In times of war and great suffering, it is essential to maintain emergency health services to treat the wounded and dying," the statement quoted Archbishop Hossam Naum, Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, as saying.
Archbishop Nahum called on Israel to allow the opening of the hospital and stop attacks on civilians. He called on the warring parties to achieve an immediate ceasefire.
Israel denies that it carried out deliberate attacks against the civilian population, notes Reuters.