WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States does not expect the Israeli strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza to affect talks on an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the White House said on Wednesday.
“The ceasefire and hostage negotiations are ongoing,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing. “I wouldn’t anticipate any particular impact on those discussions as a result of the strike yesterday.”
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was outraged and heartbroken by the Israeli strike in which the food aid workers were killed. He said it was not a standalone incident in the conflict in which too many aid workers have been killed.
“It’s not the first time that this has happened and so yes, we’re frustrated by this,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a briefing Wednesday.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Jonathan Landay, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
