White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday informed the families of U.S. hostages in Gaza that President Biden is contemplating presenting a final proposal for a hostage-release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas later this week, according to reports.
The recent murder of six hostages by Hamas has heightened the urgency among Biden’s senior aides to secure an agreement promptly, aiming to offer Israel and Hamas a definitive proposal.
Biden plans to meet with his national security team on Monday morning to discuss the final strategy for the proposed deal, according to reports. Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to join Biden for a meeting with the U.S. hostage negotiation team on Monday, based on the White House schedule.
Six hostages killed
Hamas recently killed six hostages, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Israeli and U.S. officials confirmed. Israeli soldiers recovered their bodies on Saturday. The Israeli Ministry of Health reported that autopsies indicated the hostages were shot at close range. It is anticipated that at least three hostages would be released in the first phase of the proposed deal.
Sullivan and Brett McGurk, Biden’s top Middle East adviser, conducted a one-hour Zoom call with the families of the seven U.S. hostages still held by Hamas. The families were informed that while a deal’s conclusion was uncertain, there was a possibility and a hopeful expectation that it might occur within the next two weeks. Biden’s senior advisers have indicated that the U.S. might soon present an updated bridging proposal to both Israel and Hamas, allowing another week for responses. Significant progress was reported last week in Cairo and Doha regarding the hostages and Palestinian prisoners slated for release in the initial phase of the deal. The updated proposal would include a U.S. suggestion concerning the Philadelphi corridor, with hopes that Egypt and Hamas would accept it.
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Philadelphi corridor: A major obstacle in the negotiations
The Philadelphi corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border has become a major obstacle in the negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israeli forces remain along the border during the 42-day ceasefire, a demand not supported by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar, and Mossad Director David Barnea. Netanyahu’s cabinet decision on this issue last Thursday triggered a heated dispute between him and Defense Minister Gallant. Egypt and Hamas have rejected proposals involving an Israeli Defense Forces presence along the corridor.
The White House reported that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held a virtual meeting with the hostage families to discuss the tragic news of the six hostages killed by Hamas, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Sullivan reportedly talked about the high-level diplomatic efforts underway to secure the release of the remaining hostages and emphasized President Biden’s strong commitment to bringing them home as soon as possible. The families stated that Sullivan indicated the upcoming days would be crucial in the effort to free the hostages and expressed a unified call for Prime Minister Netanyahu to finalize the deal with Hamas and bring the hostages home.
Protests across Israel
Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Israel following the recovery of six hostages’ bodies held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparking national outrage.
Protesters, many draped in Israeli flags, gathered in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other cities, criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for not securing the release of the remaining hostages taken during the October 7 attacks.
Sunday’s protests were mostly peaceful, but some demonstrators breached police lines, blocking a major highway in Tel Aviv. In response, the Histadrut labor union called for a nationwide general strike on Monday, demanding a deal for the hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that the six bodies were discovered on Saturday in an underground tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza. The hostages were identified as Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt Ori Danino. The IDF indicated that they had been killed shortly before troops reached them.
This development led to Sunday’s protests, where crowds blamed both the government and Prime Minister Netanyahu for failing to save the remaining hostages. In Tel Aviv, protesters broke through police lines onto Ayalon Highway late Sunday. Some scaled buses and bins for better visibility, while others surrounded an individual wearing a Netanyahu mask, chanting for the hostages to be kept alive.
In Jerusalem, a large crowd gathered outside the prime minister’s office. Families of the hostages have been advocating for a nationwide strike to push for a ceasefire agreement between Netanyahu’s government and Hamas for weeks.
Nationwide strike for ceasefire agreement
The Hostages Families Forum claimed that the six captives, whose bodies were recovered by the Israeli military, had been murdered in the last few days after enduring nearly 11 months of abuse, torture, and starvation. They attributed the delay in securing a deal to the deaths of these and other hostages.
The prime minister stated his commitment to securing a deal to release the remaining captives and ensure the country’s security but remarked that those who murder hostages do not seek a deal. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned the general strike, arguing that it served Hamas’s interests. However, Tel Aviv’s Mayor Ron Huldai supported the strike, allowing municipal workers to join as a gesture of solidarity with the abductees and their families.
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