Gantz: Initial Signs Indicate Progress On New Hostage Deal

Wires carrying comments from Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz stating, “there are attempts being made to push forward a new hostage deal and initial signs indicate that progress can be made.”

• Gantz adds that, "without new hostage deal, we will continue operating also during Ramadan."
• Comes a day after the US vetoed a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution but submitted an alterative resolution which took a firmer line on Israel's possible ground operation in Rafah.
• FP noted on the US proposal, “it was the first time that the United States explicitly suggested an immediate truce, making it the “strongest signal” yet that “Israel cannot rely on American diplomatic protection indefinitely,” said Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group.”
• White House Middle East Envoy Brett McGurk is expected to travel to Cairo, Egypt today to continue multilateral hostage exchange/ceasefire talks.
• NBC News notes that, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed Hamas' proposed deal as ''delusional.'' The US, "hopes for a cease-fire by next month, when Israel has vowed to begin an assault on the overcrowded city of Rafah unless a deal is reached."
• Earlier today, the Knesset approved a Netanyahu plan to oppose any "unilateral" recognition of a Palestinian state in a 99-9 vote.