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The US has sharply criticized Israel's warnings about the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's statement about the negotiations was described as "scandalous and absurd" by White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
"I just want to underscore how wrong this is, not only fundamentally, but also endangering the lives of the hostages and contrary to Israel's national security interests," Kirby said.
Smotrich had labeled the Gaza deal a "dangerous trap" after the demand by the mediators, the US, Qatar and Egypt, to end immediately - the deal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
"This would end the war in the Gaza Strip before the Palestinian militant organization Hamas is destroyed - and allow it to regroup and kill Jews again," Smotrich wrote on the X platform.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Israel - in accordance with the proposal of the US and mediators - would send a delegation to an as-yet-undetermined location on August 15 - to determine the details of the agreement's implementation.
Smotrich urged Netanyahu not to fall into the trap and deviate from his red lines. Kirby claimed that Smotrich was essentially suggesting that the war should continue – without regard for the lives of the hostages.
"The agreement, which was negotiated for several months, fully protects Israel's national security interests," Kirby emphasized.
He noted that most of the top Hamas figures were now dead and that the organized military structure of Hamas had been destroyed.
"Israel has accomplished almost all of its major military objectives, except for the clear purpose of the war to bring the hostages home," Kirby pointed out.
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