President Joe Biden urged Egypt and Qatar to pressure Hamas into agreeing to a hostage deal with Israel, according to multiple reports citing a senior administration official.
Biden national-security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with hostage families on Monday as Biden deploys CIA Director William Burns to Cairo to hold talks about the hostage situation. Burns will be talking to top Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials in an attempt to secure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas, Axios reported.
Biden reportedly discussed the hostage talks yesterday during his phone call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president “made clear that everything must be done to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, now held by Hamas terrorists for nearly six months,” the senior official told the Times of Israel.
“They discussed the importance of fully empowering Israeli negotiators to reach a deal, which in its first phase would secure the release of women, elderly, sick, and wounded hostages,” the official added.
Hamas continues to hold dozens of hostages captured during the terrorist organization’s mass slaughter and sexual violence on October 7. Last month, Hamas rejected a temporary cease-fire proposal involving the exchange of Gazan prisoners for hostages. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said earlier this week that Israel would have to fully withdraw from Gaza as part of a permanent cease-fire agreement.
Biden urged Netanyahu to agree to an “immediate cease-fire” and empower his negotiators to come to a hostage deal, according to a White House read-out of the call. Biden also made known his humanitarian concerns to Netanyahu after seven World Central Kitchen food-aid workers in Gaza were killed by an accidental Israel Defense Forces strike.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested yesterday that Israel could become “indistinguishable” from Hamas if it does not address humanitarian concerns over its war effort against Hamas.
Following an investigation, the IDF fired two officers and reprimanded two commanders for the unintentional strike.
“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures,” the IDF said in a statement Friday.
Israel is preparing to launch an invasion of Rafah, a Gazan city bordering Egypt, to continue its war against Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attacks. The Biden administration has pushed Israel to consider alternative plans with the goal of minimizing casualties.