Netanyahu Spokesperson Denies Cairo Trip Amid Gaza Ceasefire Push

A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday rejected reports the Israeli leader was traveling to Cairo for negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

While the Biden administration said negotiations over recent days for a ceasefire have been “productive,” there’s little word from Israel’s side of forward movement on a truce that would lead to the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

“Contrary to the wave of rumors, Prime Minister Netanyahu is not in Cairo,” the spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Hill by Israel’s Embassy in Washington.

The prime minister’s office further said Netanyahu had traveled to the border area between Israel and Syria, the Hermon ridge, to hold an assessment with Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Israel’s military and intelligence officials. Israeli forces have taken control of a demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria amid the ousting of alleged war criminal Syrian President Bashar Assad. 

The Biden administration over recent days has renewed efforts to achieve a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday said “negotiations have been productive in recent days.” But he tempered optimism over a year of efforts to try to repeat a truce and hostage release that took place over a period of a week at the end of November 2023, when an estimated 100 hostages were released. 

“We have continued to try to work with the other mediators to narrow the differences. We have been down this road so many times before, though, it’s hard to stand here and say we’re optimistic about it, because we are very much realistic about how difficult it has been to reach a deal,” Miller said. 

“There are really — and this has been true for some time — there are a very small number of differences that remain between the parties, and we continue to believe that those differences can be bridged. We continue to work to bridge those differences.”