White House says waiting for Hamas response to hostage release proposal

WASHINGTON - CIA Director William Burns was in Cairo over the weekend for "a serious round" of negotiations on securing the release of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, and Hamas is reviewing a new proposal now, the White House said.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said the United States was taking the discussions very seriously and was hoping to secure a hostage release deal as soon as possible, since it would also lead to a ceasefire of around six weeks.

He said more than 300 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, but the White House would continue to press Israel to allow more humanitarian aid supplies into the Palestinian enclave.

 A Hamas official said on Monday no progress was made at a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo also attended by Israeli, Qatar and US representatives, after the Egyptian hosts said headway had been achieved on the agenda.

Western powers have voiced outrage over what they see as an unacceptably high Palestinian civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis arising from Israel's military onslaught to destroy Hamas in tiny, densely populated Gaza.

Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday after the arrival of Burns, whose presence underlined rising US pressure for a deal that would free hostages held in Gaza and get aid to isolated civilians.

"There is no change in the position of the occupation and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks," the Hamas official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

"There is no progress yet."