The State Department said an agreement between Hamas and Israel was possible

The Israeli authorities and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas can overcome their differences and reach an agreement on a truce in the Gaza Strip. This was stated by the head of the press service of the US State Department Matthew Miller during a briefing on December 17.

"We should be able to reach an agreement. We can overcome the differences between the two sides, but that doesn't mean we will," he said.

Miller also commented on reports that Hamas has allegedly agreed to all the demands made. He noted that "this is not true."

Bread and shelter: some 8,000 pregnant women are living in hunger in Gaza

How the war in the region affects civilians and whether a truce between Hamas and Israel is possible

Earlier in the day, the Saudi TV channel Al Hadath reported that the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Israeli authorities could reach an agreement on the release of hostages by the end of December. At the same time, Reuters said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would head to Cairo to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

On the same day, Al Jazeera reported that since the beginning of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the death toll has reached 45,028 Palestinians, with 106,962 wounded.

The situation in the Middle East escalated in the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.