As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the government bring the hostages home.
Egyptian military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Khalifa made a surprise visit to the country’s border with Gaza to inspect security measures on Thursday, according to a spokesperson.
The unannounced visit comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would only agree to a cease-fire deal if Israeli forces remain in the Philadlephi corridor, which separates Gaza and Egypt. This has been a main sticking point in the ongoing cease-fire and hostage negotiations.
The border crossing from Egypt into Gaza has been closed since May.
-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy
Sep 05, 2024, 4:11 PM EDT
Protesters set off flares on blocked road in Tel Aviv
Protesters set off flares on a road they blocked in Tel Aviv on Thursday, calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas and bring home more hostages.
Demonstrators take part in a protest to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept. 5, 2024.
Florion Goga/Reuters
Israeli anti-government demonstrators hold placards and wave national flags during a protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the Oct. 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on Sept. 5, 2024.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
This is the fifth night of protests in Tel Aviv this week.
Sep 05, 2024, 2:45 PM EDT
Hamas says no deal if the IDF doesn't withdraw as negotiations appear stuck
Hamas said it would not agree to a cease-fire agreement with Israel that doesn't include a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi axis and the Rafah crossing, as negotiations appear to be at a standstill.
Hamas is also demanding the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel for hostages.
"We do not need any new papers or proposals from any party. We refuse to return to point zero or go around in a vicious circle, in order to achieve Netanyahu’s goals," the Hamas Political Bureau said in a statement Thursday.
-ABC News' Nasser Atta
Sep 05, 2024, 1:11 PM EDT
Official pushes back on claim US is too optimistic on deal
The National Security Council is pushing back on claims the U.S. is being to optimistic about a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, stressing that it is "actively engaging counterparts in Qatar, Egypt, Israel, to see what we can do to try to move this forward," spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.
Kirby said 90% of a deal has been agreed to.
"You call that optimistic. I call that accurate. That's how close we believe we are. That's where we have gotten to. The basic framework of the deal has been agreed to," Kirby said.
"What we're talking about now is the implementing details, and specifically the exchange of prisoners. And now that calculus is different because of what happened over the weekend," he said, referring to the death of six hostages in Gaza.
Displaced Palestinians shelter in a school, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 5, 2024.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Kirby acknowledged that the administration is "frustrated that we still haven't been able to conclude this deal."
"We believe that these differences can be resolved. What the next step looks like in terms of resolving them? I think we just don't know right now," Kirby said.
"We want to see the hostages home as soon as possible. But I would also say that as frustrating as it has been at times and as unhelpful as not just public comments, but even private machinations in the negotiation process have been to closure of the deal, it has not dimmed one bit President Biden's commitment to trying to see this through," he said.
