US envoy in Cairo for talks on Gaza hostages, humanitarian pause

Brett McGurk, the US envoy for the Middle East, is in Cairo on Tuesday to engage in discussions aimed at securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as negotiating a humanitarian ceasefire, according to a statement from the White House.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said that the Biden administration is fully in favour of extending the duration of the humanitarian pause.

Kirby added that McGurk's discussions encompass additional topics, such as evaluating Israel's military actions and its initiatives to safeguard civilians, and further examining the prospects for normalising relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.