Secretary of State John Kerry renewed U.S. calls for "an immediate end to the fighting" in Gaza as he attended talks in Cairo on Tuesday. "We’ve had constructive meetings thus far,” Kerry said, adding that he intended to have “conversations throughout today and in the next days in order to see if we can find a way forward that ends the violence and then address the underlying causes of the crisis.”
More than 600 Palestinians and at least 29 Israelis have been killed since July 8. “The loss of lives and the humanitarian impact is really heartbreaking and we reiterate our call for an immediate end to the fighting and a return to the cease-fire agreed in 2012," Kerry said. " Just reaching a cease-fire is not enough. It is imperative that there be a serious discussion about it. Hamas has a fundamental choice to make. The Egyptians have provided a framework and a forum for them to come to the table." He said the U.S. supported Israel's "right to self-defense" but added: “We have seen too much bloodshed on all sides."
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