National security spokesman John Kirby said Sunday that ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have “not produced any progress” in recent weeks.
Speaking on ABC's This Week, Kirby was asked whether negotiations were cooling off despite rising tensions in the region and the possibility of all-out war.
“I would say there hasn't been any progress in the last week or two weeks,” he said, adding, “It's not for a lack of trying.”
Kirby said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar did not appear to want to negotiate, even after six hostages were killed in a southern Gaza tunnel late last month.
“So it looks like he's not going to move the case forward, but that doesn't mean we're not trying,” he said.
Kirby said the United States continues to work with Qatar, Egypt and Israel to move the talks forward.
His comments come amid rising tensions in the Middle East. Last week, Israel attacked pagers belonging to Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria, which responded with airstrikes on Israel, raising fears of a larger regional war.
“We have been watching with concern the escalating tensions in the region and across the border over the last week or so,” Kirby said.
He said the US did not believe further military action from either side was in anyone's “best interests” but that it certainly was not in Israel's interest to see the remaining hostages return home alive.
“There's a better way to move forward here and we're going to continue to propose it,” Kirby said.
