The US State Department confirmed, on Tuesday evening, that Israel has confirmed that it will participate in talks next Thursday to put the final touches on the ceasefire agreement.

The US State Department noted in a press briefing by its spokesman that Qatar had assured it that it would work to ensure the participation of the Hamas movement, saying: It is important for Hamas to participate in the talks because the time has come to restore the hostages and increase aid to Gaza.

He added: It is time to recover the hostages and bring more aid into Gaza, and we will continue to work to reach an agreement.

It is likely that the talks scheduled for this week regarding Gaza will go forward.

Regarding the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, the US State Department spokesman said: We fully support the current situation in the holy places and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we urge everyone to respect them. Any unilateral action such as what Ben Gvir did endangers the current situation in Jerusalem, which is unacceptable.

Regarding the expected Iranian response, he said: No one will benefit from any Iranian revenge, and we will not hesitate to defend Israel and protect our forces against any attacks by Iran and its proxies.

He added: No one will benefit from any Iranian revenge and we are engaged in intensive diplomacy to deliver this message to the region.