US Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday no ceasefire deal had been reached yet in the conflict in Gaza as he and UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged a seven-day halt in fighting.
Expectations had mounted all day for an end to the 18-day conflict, but Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri said neither Israel nor Hamas had shown “enough willingness to negotiate.”
Kerry, who has been leading international efforts to reach a truce, said at a press conference in Cairo with Shoukri and Ban that both sides “still have some terminology” to agree to on a ceasefire, but added they had “fundamental framework” on a truce.
Kerry said he had not submitted any formal truce proposal.
“They may have rejected some language in the proposal within the framework … but there was no formal proposal submitted from me,” he said.
Diplomats said both sides were asked to accept a seven-day truce during which negotiations would take place on the Gaza blockade and other disputes.
Kerry said he would travel to Paris on Saturday to hold further talks with the foreign ministers of Qatar and Turkey, which exert influence over the militant Hamas rulers of Gaza.
He will also meet in Paris top French and British diplomats, including French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, and the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.