US President Joe Biden is urging Egypt and Qatar to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages during peace talks this weekend.
Biden wrote on Friday to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, asking them to pressure Hamas to reach a hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official.
This comes a day after a senior Hamas leader on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal in Gaza put forward by Egypt.
Meanwhile, Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a ceasefire in the six-month war in Gaza.
The official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the letters, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet on Monday with relatives of the hundreds of hostages – including American citizens – believed to still be in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden is urging Egypt and Qatar to pressure Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages during peace talks this weekend.
An unnamed official said national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet on Monday with relatives of some of the hundreds of hostages still held in Gaza. (A woman holds a sign calling for the return of hostages at an ‘anti-Netanyahu protest’ in Jerusalem – March 31, 2024)
This comes as Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble his efforts to reach a ceasefire in the six-month war in Gaza. (Pictured: Netanyahu meeting with visiting Republican lawmakers in Jerusalem on Thursday)
The letters come as Biden sent CIA Director William Burns to Cairo for talks this weekend about the hostage crisis.
David Barnea, head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, and negotiators from Egypt and Qatar are expected to attend.
Hamas’s part in the talks is indirect, with proposals sent through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in terrorist tunnels beneath Gaza.
The first phase of the proposed agreement would ensure the release of women and the elderly, the sick and injured hostages.
Hamas reportedly rejected Egypt’s latest ceasefire proposal in Gaza on Thursday.
Peace talks are planned this weekend to discuss the hostage crisis. Hamas’s part in the talks is indirect, with proposals sent through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in terrorist tunnels beneath Gaza. (Pictured: Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages protest)
Biden emphasized the need to reach a hostage deal during Thursday’s conversation with Netanyahu, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
‘We are about to complete six months, six months in which these people have been hostages. And what we have to consider are the abhorrent conditions in which the hostages are being held, Kirby said. “They need to be home with their families.”
Biden said he “made clear that everything possible must be done to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens,” and discussed “the importance of fully empowering Israeli negotiators to reach a deal” with Netanyahu, the official said. .
Biden also told Netanyahu that the airstrikes that killed seven aid workers were “unacceptable” on Thursday and demanded that he push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
He warned Bibi that Israel could lose American support if civilians continued to be injured and killed. The White House said it wants changes in “hours and days.”
“President Biden emphasized that attacks on aid workers and the broader humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation.
‘He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and measurable measures to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of humanitarian workers. He made it clear that American policy toward Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these measures.’
An image taken from a video released by the Hamas Media Office shows a Hamas fighter and a Red Cross doctor accompanying a recently freed Israeli hostage, Maya Regev, to a Red Cross vehicle in the Gaza Strip. Gaza early on November 26, 2023.
The young Israeli was freed during a hostage exchange in November and told an Israeli parliamentary committee earlier this week that “all the Israeli women who are held captive in Gaza are being sexually abused” (pictured: relatives of the hostages before of the meeting)
Before the committee meeting began, attendees held signs of the hostages
In his call on Thursday, Biden also urged Netanyahu for an immediate ceasefire.
The White House said in a statement Thursday after Biden’s call with Netanyahu that the US president said reaching an “immediate ceasefire” in exchange for hostages was “essential” and urged Israel to reach such an agreement. “Without delay”.
“He stressed that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude without delay an agreement to bring the hostages home,” the statement said. White House in its read.
The White House declined to say what specific steps they wanted to see, but made clear they want to see them soon, within “hours and days.”
“There have to be tangible steps, let’s see what [Israelis] announce, let’s see what they do,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“We expect there to be some announcements coming from Israel in the coming hours and days.”
He described Biden as “shocked” by the attack.
“We are seeking concrete measures to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza,” he said. “If there are no changes in their policy and approaches, then there will have to be changes in ours.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden’s message.
‘Regarding our policy in Gaza, look, I’ll just say this; If we do not see the changes we need, there will be a change in our policy,” she said during a press conference in Brussels, where he is participating in a NATO meeting.
Relatives of those still held captive by Hamas terrorists said their spirits have been shattered by recent revelations of rapes committed by freed female hostages.
Earlier this week, a freed Israeli woman said that all female hostages held in Gaza are being sexually abused.
Maya Regev, 21, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while attending the Nova music festival on October 7 with her brother Itay, 19, and friend Omer Shem Tov, 21.
The young Israeli was freed in a hostage exchange in November and told an Israeli parliamentary committee this week that “all the Israeli women who are held captive in Gaza are being sexually abused,” the Jerusalem Post reports.
Maya said it was “unbelievable” that the Israeli parliament is going into recess on April 8 for more than a month when Hamas is still holding more than 130 hostages.
‘Every day there is an emergency and every minute counts. What will the women do there? What will the rest of the captives do there? Maya said.
Relatives of those still held captive by Hamas terrorists said their spirits have been broken by recent revelations of rape by freed female hostages, as they fueled concerns that remaining captives could also be facing similar abuses.