The Biden administration is considering negotiating directly with Hamas to secure the release of five American hostages being held in the Gaza Strip if ceasefire talks between the terrorists and Israel ultimately fail, current and former U.S. officials said.
The negotiations will be conducted through Qatar, which has helped free American hostages in the past, and two current and two former senior U.S. officials have been briefed on the talks. He said in an NBC News report published Monday.
The US is seeking the release of Israeli-Americans Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel Chen, Hersh Goldberg Pollin, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel, as well as the recovery of the remains of three other Israeli-Americans believed to have died in the October 7 terror attack: Itai Chen, Judy Weinstein and Gad Hagai.
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel and John, said they welcomed the U.S. agreement to release their 23-year-old son, a dual Israeli citizen whose hand was amputated after he was kidnapped.
“We have seen reports that the U.S. government is considering negotiating directly with Hamas regarding the release of American citizens being held in Gaza,” the parents said in a statement.
“We welcome negotiations that will lead to the return of loved ones who have been held captive for more than eight months,” they said. “We pray that all hostage families will be able to be reunited with their loved ones soon.”
The talks do not include Israel. Peace talks between Israel and Hamas remain stalled over the terror group’s demands for a permanent end to the war and for it to be allowed to continue to rule the Gaza Strip.
It is unclear what the United States would give Hamas in exchange for the hostages’ release, but officials said the terror group could find the deal attractive as a way to further strain U.S.-Israeli relations and weaken Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position.
The former official claimed internal discussions about the U.S. proposal also included the possibility of pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to compromise on a ceasefire agreement if the U.S. first secured a unilateral agreement with Hamas.
The prime minister is already under intense domestic pressure to reach a deal to free the estimated 120 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Netanyahu has maintained that military pressure is the best way to secure hostages, even as he boasted about the rescue of four Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas for eight months in a raid in central Gaza on Saturday.
