U.S. sees renewed push for hostage release/Gaza ceasefire deal
“We have had signals….[that Hamas is] actually ready to…sit down again,” a senior U.S. administration official said. “We’re going to test that proposition here over the coming days.”
Israeli and American officials over the past two days have suggested that there is a fresh push underway to try to finalize a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas that would be accompanied by an extended ceasefire in Gaza.
An Egyptian delegation traveled to Israel today (April 26) to discuss a revived effort for a hostage deal and Gaza ceasefire.
The talks were “very good, focused, held in good spirits and progressed in all parameters,” a senior Israeli official told Israeli media, the Times of Israel reported.
A Times of Israel source reportedly suggested that either Hamas take “a deal in the near future,” or Israel would finalize preparations for a ground operation against Hamas battalions and infrastructure in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. The border city, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are currently sheltering, also serves as a key hub for humanitarian aid entering Gaza from Egypt. Two Israeli brigades have reportedly been summoned to Gaza in recent days, Israeli media reports said.
A senior U.S. administration official said they have seen signals from Hamas in recent days that it might be interested in the deal, after Hamas on April 16 rejected what he described as a forward-leaning proposal that met nearly all of Hamas’ demands.
“We have had signals….[Hamas is] actually ready to…sit down again,” the senior US administration official, speaking not for attribution, told journalists on a call on April 25.
“Whether or not this is just stringing things out, or whether it’s something real, we're going to test that proposition here over the coming days.”
The leaders of eighteen nations with citizens being held hostage by Hamas on Thursday issued a joint statement calling for the parties to accept the deal on the table, saying it would free the hostages, “bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza,” and “lead to the credible end of hostilities.”
“We reiterate our call on Hamas to release the hostages, and let us end this crisis,” President Biden, the leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Thailand, and 11 European nations said.
The senior US administration official said the United States, Qatar and Egypt had agreed to serve as guarantors of the deal.
“There's a deal on the table. It meets nearly all of the demands that Hamas has had,” the official said. “And what they need to do is release the vulnerable category of hostages to get things moving. That's basically where we are.”
“Now, if there are adjustments here and there that need to be made, of course we're very much open to that, and we would support that,” the US official said, “Because we want to bring these people home.”
President Biden on Wednesday met at the White House with four year old Israeli American Abigail Mor Edan, who was freed in a one week hostage release/ceasefire deal in November, after seeing her parents killed by Hamas on October 7.
On Monday, the United States received a proof of life video of another Israeli American hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 24, who was taken hostage by Hamas while attending a music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
“We have insisted on proof of life, we have insisted on the release of all of these hostages from the beginning,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday. “And so, there’s been no change in our position with respect to proof of life. So, I can’t speak to what has caused them to choose to release the video at this time.”
“All I can say is this: an innocent young man is being held hostage by a terrorist organization, and he should be released immediately without condition and without delay,” Sullivan said.
“I love you. Stay strong. Survive,” Goldberg’s mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, told CNN she was urging her son, who lost part of his arm in the Hamas attack.
**