White House says Israeli-Palestinian talks in Cairo continue to advance Hamas: Not true

The White House said negotiations for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal were continuing in Cairo and would continue at the working group level in the coming days to resolve specific issues. But Hamas officials said the American account did not match the facts.

In an online briefing on Monday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby dismissed suggestions of a breakdown and called the talks "constructive," Reuters reported.

"The talks actually made progress, so they thought the logical next step would be for the lower-level working groups to hammer out more specific details," Kirby said.

Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden's top Middle East adviser, is staying in Cairo for an extra day to kick-start the working group's discussions.

Kirby said one of the issues the working group will address is the exchange of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. They will discuss the number of people to be exchanged, the identities of the hostages and the timetable for the exchange.

Kirby also said Hezbollah's cross-border attack on Israel over the weekend had not affected the Israeli-Palestinian talks.

However, Hamas official Taher al-Nono reiterated to Qatar's Al Jazeera television on the 26th that the United States on the progress of the ceasefire talks "does not accord with the facts," saying that "the purpose of the United States is to support the position of the occupation side."

In a statement, Hamas said it was wrong to say that an agreement was imminent in the cease-fire talks.

Two Egyptian sources disclosed on the 25th that Israel has reservations about the release of several Palestinian prisoners demanded by Hamas, and indicated that the prisoners must leave the Gaza Strip if they are released.