Hamas changed 'some of the terms' of the hostage exchange: White House
The White House is remaining hopeful that talks for a cease-fire in Gaza and release of the remaining hostages can be salvaged after Hamas proposed new amendments to the deal following the killing of six hostages.
"Hamas did change some of the terms of the exchange. And that has made it more difficult for us to get there," National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said at Monday’s press briefing.
"We still believe that, even for the new amendments that Hamas has made, that it's still worth an effort to try to see if we can't get back into a cease-fire negotiation," he added. "But we're not there right now."
![PHOTO: A girl draws on a blackboard at a school sheltering people displaced by conflict run by the UNRWA in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Sept. 9, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.](https://i.abcnewsfe.com/a/ffbcb965-5882-47b8-9e8a-fb01202dd4e9/gaza-heart-mo_1725909984259_hpMain.jpg)
Kirby would not say if President Joe Biden will be increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a deal and potentially hold the transfer of weapons to Israel in order to secure a deal, similar to the recent decision by the United Kingdom.
"I can't think of anything we haven't put more pressure on ourselves than to try to get this deal," Kirby said. "We know how urgent this is. And we're working night and day to try to see if we can get a deal in place. Hamas is the main obstacle to this right now."
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez