Benny Gantz, an influential member of Israel’s military cabinet, will meet with American leaders in Washington on Monday to discuss a “temporary ceasefire” and the “need for a substantial increase” in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, a Gaza official said. Streep announced on Sunday at the White House, quoted by AFP Agerpres.

The visit comes as the US, Israel’s main military and diplomatic ally, is trying to broker a truce in the nearly five-month-old war.

The Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, launched in response to an unprecedented attack by the Islamist group Hamas on communities in southern Israel on October 7, has killed about 30,410 people, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. .

Faced with the plight of Palestinians in the enclave, threatened by famine, under siege and bombardment, international calls for a cease-fire are growing.

Benny Gantz is scheduled to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the official told the press on condition of anonymity. The information about this was previously reported by the Israeli mass media.

“This meeting is part of our ongoing effort to talk to a wide range of Israeli officials about the war in Gaza and the preparations for the next day,” he said.

A Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7 killed at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to AFP, based on official Israeli figures.

About 250 people were taken hostage, and according to Israel, 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, of whom 31 are believed to have died.

According to a quoted White House official, Vice President Kamala Harris will “reaffirm Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of continued terrorist threats from Hamas,” but will also insist on “the urgency of reaching a hostage deal that allows for a temporary ceasefire and the need for a significant escalation.” aid to Gaza.

The vice president will remind that “the United States is ready to do more to increase aid, especially through air launches that began on Saturday,” as well as through a potential “maritime corridor to deliver aid by sea,” he added.

On Sunday, talks resumed in Cairo with the aim of reaching a truce during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, which begins on March 10 or 11 this year.

Israel boycotted talks in Cairo on a cease-fire in Gaza

However, Israel boycotted the talks in Cairo on Sunday after Hamas rejected its request for a full list of the names of the hostages who are still alive, an Israeli newspaper said later in the day, as cited by Reuters.

A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo for talks presented as a possible final hurdle to a deal that would see a six-week cessation of hostilities. But by the evening, the Israelis had not appeared, reports the British press agency.

“There is no Israeli delegation in Cairo,” Ynet, the online version of the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, reported, citing Israeli officials on condition of anonymity. “Hamas refuses to give clear answers, so there is no reason to send an Israeli delegation.”

In the US, criticized by a section of his Democratic camp for supporting Israel, US President Joe Biden has gradually expressed concern about the way the war in Gaza is going.

Minister without portfolio and former defense minister Benny Gantz is a former rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his (centrist) National Union party is overwhelmingly ahead in the polls at a time when Israel’s coalition government looks increasingly fragile.