White House official: US makes intense effort to persuade Israel, Hamas to resume negotiations

The US government is making an intense effort to persuade Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations so they can once again pause hostilities and exchange more Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages, a White House spokesman said on Sunday.
The Strategic Communications Coordinator at the White House National Security Council said "We are still working it really hard, hour by hour, to see if we can get the sides back to the table and see if we can get something moving."
"We would like that to happen today. But honestly, I just dont know," he added.
The Israeli army continued its bombardment of the Gaza Strip for the fourth consecutive day after negotiations were unable to extend the pause with Hamas, despite increasing international calls for restraint to protect civilians.