<p>Washington: US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will travel to the region this week for continued talks on securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official said on Tuesday.</p><p>McGurk, who participated in earlier negotiations, will visit Egypt on Wednesday and Israel on Thursday, the official said.</p><p>The meetings are the latest in ongoing talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas following its deadly October 7 attack on Israel.</p>.EU warns Israel against 'catastrophic' Rafah offensive.<p>Meanwhile, the U.S. is also proposing a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major ground offensive by its ally Israel in Rafah, after signaling a U.S. veto on a rival resolution on Tuesday that it said could jeopardize talks.</p><p>The United States does "not plan to rush" to a vote in order to allow time for negotiations, a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.</p><p>US officials have said the ongoing hostage talks have been productive but have required more ongoing work.</p>
<p>Washington: US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will travel to the region this week for continued talks on securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, a senior Biden administration official said on Tuesday.</p><p>McGurk, who participated in earlier negotiations, will visit Egypt on Wednesday and Israel on Thursday, the official said.</p><p>The meetings are the latest in ongoing talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar that seek to broker a pause in the war and the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas following its deadly October 7 attack on Israel.</p>.EU warns Israel against 'catastrophic' Rafah offensive.<p>Meanwhile, the U.S. is also proposing a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major ground offensive by its ally Israel in Rafah, after signaling a U.S. veto on a rival resolution on Tuesday that it said could jeopardize talks.</p><p>The United States does "not plan to rush" to a vote in order to allow time for negotiations, a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters on Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.</p><p>US officials have said the ongoing hostage talks have been productive but have required more ongoing work.</p>