White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Friday pushed back against reports saying talks on a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip are near collapse.

“That is not accurate,” Kirby told reporters. “There has been progress made.”

Negotiations resumed Thursday in Cairo and are expected to carry on into the weekend, Kirby said. CIA Director William Burns joined the talks Friday.

Kirby said Thursday’s conversations were “constructive.”

“The process is actually moving forward,” Kirby said. “It's moving forward in the way we had outlined earlier in terms of these next rounds of talks. Now what's critical is that everybody participate in these talks.”

The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are trying to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas that would end their nearly 11-month-old war and free Israeli hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a delegation to Cairo. 

Hamas is not at the bargaining table. During last week’s round of negotiations in Doha, Qatar, representatives from Qatar and Egypt were separately in contact with Hamas.

A crucial sticking point involves Israel’s demand for lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. Asked about the dispute Friday, Kirby said he would not discuss details of the negotiations. The White House spokesman said the U.S. is focused on securing an agreement on the implementation of the framework of a deal Israel and Hamas reached in principle three months ago.

“We need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details,” Kirby said. “And that’s what we're focused on here in the coming days here, over the course of the weekend.”

Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Israel had accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a deal.

The first phase of the proposed deal announced by U.S. President Joe Biden in May would last six weeks and establish a “full and complete cease-fire” as Israeli forces withdrew from densely populated areas of Gaza and humanitarian assistance into the region surged. Meanwhile, Hamas would release a number of hostages, including women, the elderly and the wounded in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinian protesters.

The second phase calls for the release of all remaining living hostages and Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza completely.

The final phase would focus on the reconstruction of Gaza.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.