US still working toward Gaza ceasefire deal in Cairo, Sullivan says

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday the United States is still working in Cairo toward reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza and added the United States is concerned about the Middle East conflict escalating to a broader war.

Sullivan also said at a news conference in Halifax the Biden administration is in consistent communication with Israel about the current situation with Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, a round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a cease-fire and hostage deal to at least temporarily end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza ended Sunday without a final agreement, a US official said. But talks will continue at lower levels in the coming days in an effort to bridge remaining gaps.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, said lower level "working teams” will remain in Cairo to meet with mediators the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in hopes to addressing remaining disagreements. The official called the recent conversations, which began Thursday in Cairo and continued through Sunday, as "constructive” and said all parties were working to "reach a final and implementable agreement.”

William Burns

The talks included CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. A Hamas delegation was briefed by Egyptian and Qatari mediators but did not directly take part in negotiations.

The development came after Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah traded heavy fire early on Sunday but backed off from sparking a widely feared all-out war, as both sides signaled their most intense exchange in months was over.

Hezbollah claimed to hit an Israeli military intelligence site near Tel Aviv as part of a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones, and Israel claimed its dozens of strikes had been preemptive to avert a larger attack. Neither offered evidence.

Agencies