Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “ready to make a deal” to secure the release of hostages still being held in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday. .
“I felt like the prime minister was ready to make an agreement,” Sullivan said at a Tel Aviv news conference, according to multiple reports. “The prime minister has indicated he wants to get it done.”
Biden's national security adviser, who met with the Israeli prime minister on Thursday, was asked whether Prime Minister Netanyahu was stalling ceasefire negotiations with Hamas to wait for the incoming Trump administration to take office, and Sullivan said: replied, “No, it's not.” Understand that feeling. ”
“We hope to close this deal this month. If we had thought this would have to wait until after January 20th, we wouldn't be here today,” he said.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanaif in Tel Aviv on December 12, 2024, to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. (David Azaguri/U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem)
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Sullivan's comments came just two days after he met with the families of American hostages held by Hamas for more than 430 days after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
More than a year after the last hostage release was agreed in November 2023, hopes that a hostage deal might finally come to fruition were raised late last month when Jerusalem and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire based on a 13-point agreement. It resurfaced.
This week's report in the Wall Street Journal further suggests that Hamas has conceded on two key Israeli demands, saying that the terrorist network would allow Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers to remain in Gaza during a cessation of fighting. He reportedly told the mediator.
The group also appears to have agreed to drop its demands for a permanent halt to Israeli military operations and handed over a list of hostages, including Americans, to be exchanged under a “ceasefire” agreement.
It remains unclear how many hostages Hamas will hand over and which of the seven Americans still in Gaza (three of whom are believed to be still alive) were on this list.
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Hostage families from both the United States and Israel have been calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu for months to call for a ceasefire and secure the release of the hostages. The plea took on added urgency after the ceasefire agreement collapsed in late summer, but ultimately failed to secure the release of American hostage Hersh Goldberg Pollin. They, along with two other Israelis who had been listed as candidates for release, were killed by Hamas along with three other hostages. In August.
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday made sweeping demands that Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire agreement and release all hostages from captivity.
The resolution, adopted by 158 votes from 193 member organizations, calls for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire respected by all parties” and reiterates the call for immediate and unconditional release. . All the hostages. ”
Although UN General Assembly resolutions are not binding, they are important as they indicate the international position on a certain issue.
Demonstrators and their relatives taken hostage by Hamas protest on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2024. (Graham Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Nine countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against the resolution, while 13 others abstained.
“The draft resolution on the ceasefire in Gaza risks sending a dangerous message to Hamas that there is no need for negotiations or the release of hostages,” Deputy United Nations Ambassador Robert Wood said in a speech to parliament after the vote.
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“Although the Gaza resolution before us today does not advance a realistic diplomatic solution, the United States continues to pursue diplomatic solutions that bring peace, security, and freedom to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. 'The time is now,' he added. It's time to put more pressure on Hamas.
Sullivan said Thursday that Hamas's “posture at the negotiating table” has changed since the Lebanon ceasefire was agreed last month, effectively indicating that the terror network can no longer rely on support from Hezbollah.
The White House national security adviser is scheduled to travel from Israel to Qatar and then to Egypt this week to meet with senior government officials to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
