Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that he is continuing to work on a cease-fire agreement that allows aid to be brought to both Israel and people in Gaza.
"Today, we are continuing to work toward establishing an unconditional, humanitarian cease-fire, one that could honor Eid, which begins now, and that will stop the fighting, allow desperately needed food and medicine and other supplies into Gaza, and enable Israel to address the threat which we fully understand and which is real, the threat posed by tunnel attacks."
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that work is ongoing to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. (AP Photo/Pool)
Kerry said his goal is to allow these steps to be taken "without having to resort to combat."
Eid al-Fitr is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, which begins on Tuesday.
Kerry spoke after his recent talks in the Middle East and Paris. He said a goal of the talks as well is to disarm members of Hamas who have been firing rockets into Israel from Gaza.
"We also believe that any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups," he said. "We will work closely with Israel, and regional partners, and the international community in pursuit of this goal."
