US suspends sending several weapons to Israel as ceasefire efforts continue

Meanwhile, the head of the US intelligence agency, CIA, William Burns, is standing in Israel to discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Israeli counterpart of Mosad about the possibility of suspending the Israeli operation in the town of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, in exchange for the release of hostages, an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency.

The United States temporarily suspended sending powerful bombs to Israel last week, possibly in response to the Israeli offensive in Rafah. This is the first US military aid stop for Israel since Hamas' attack on Israeli settlements on October 7th.

Israeli forces took control of the border crossing in Rafah on Tuesday, while today they announced they have discovered Hamas' infrastructure in some areas in the eastern part of the city, where military units are conducting operations as Israeli air strikes continued in other parts of the Gaza Strip.

According to parties engaged in ceasefire negotiations in Cairo, the current proposal consists of three stages. The first phase includes a six-week ceasefire, the introduction of a larger amount of aid to Gaza and the return of 33 Israeli hostages, alive or dead, as well as the release from Israeli prisons of 30 Palestinian women and children for any freed Israeli hostage. / VOA