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 to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Friday, calling on them to press Hamas for a hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior administration official.
This comes a day after a senior Hamas leader rejected the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza.
The official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the letters, said national security adviser Jake Sullivan will meet Monday with family members of the hundreds of hostages – including American citizens – who are still believed to 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 anonymous official said national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will meet Monday with family members of some of the hundreds of hostages still in Gaza. (A woman holds a sign calling for the return of hostages at an ‘Anti Netanyahu Protest’ in Jerusalem – 31 Mar 2024)
This comes as Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to redouble efforts to reach a cease-fire in the six-month-old war in Gaza. (Pictured: Netanyahu meeting visiting Republican lawmakers in Jerusalem Thursday)
The letters come as Biden deployed CIA Director William Burns to Cairo for talks this weekend about the hostage crisis.
David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, and negotiators from Egypt and Qatar are expected to attend.
The Hamas side of the talks is indirect, with proposals sent through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in terror tunnels beneath Gaza.
The first phase of the proposed deal would secure the release of women and elderly, sick and wounded hostages.
Hamas has reportedly rejected the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal from Egypt on Thursday
Peace talks are planned this weekend to discuss the hostage crisis. The Hamas side of the talks is indirect, with proposals sent through third parties to Hamas leaders sheltering in terror tunnels beneath Gaza. (Pictured: Family members and supporters of Israeli hostages protest)
Biden emphasized the need to get a hostage deal done during the Thursday conversation with Netanyahu, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
‘We are coming up on six months — six months that these people have been held hostage. And what we have to consider is just the abhorrent conditions’ the hostages are being held in, Kirby said. ‘They need to be home with their families.’
Biden said he ‘made clear that everything 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 the airstrikes that killed seven aid workers were ‘unacceptable’ on Thursday, and demanded he push toward an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
He warned Bibi that Israel could lose American support if civilians kept getting hurt and killed. The White House said it want changes within ‘hours and days.’
‘President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall 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 steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.’
An image grab from a handout video released by the Hamas Media Office shows a Hamas fighter and a Red Cross medic accompanying a newly released Israeli hostage Maya Regev to a Red Cross vehicle, in the Gaza Strip early on November 26, 2023
The young Israeli woman was freed during a hostage exchange in November and told an Israeli parliamentary committee earlier this week that ‘every Israeli woman who is being held captive in Gaza is being sexually abused’ (Pictured: relatives of hostages before the meeting)
Before the committee meeting began, the attendees held posters of the hostages
On their call Thursday, Biden also urged Netanyahu for an immediate ceasefire.
The White House said in a statement Thursday following Biden’s call with Netanyahu that the U.S. president said reaching an ‘immediate cease-fire’ in exchange for hostages was ‘essential’ and urged Israel to reach such an accord ‘without delay.’
‘He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home,’ the White House said in its readout.
The White House declined to say what specific steps they wanted to see but made it clear they want to see them soon – within ‘hours and days.’
‘There has to be tangible steps, let’s see what [Israelis] announce, let’s see what they do,’ White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.
‘We expect that there will be some some announcements coming from Israel in the coming hours and days.’
He described Biden as ‘shaken’ by the attack.
‘We’re looking for concrete steps to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza,’ he said. ‘If there’s no changes to their policy and their approaches then there’s going to have to be changes to ours.’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden’s message.
‘With regard to our policy in Gaza, look I’ll just say this; If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there will be a change in our policy,’ he said during a press conference in Brussels where he is attending a NATO meeting.
The relatives of those still held captive by Hamas terrorists said that their spirit has been broken by the recent revelations of rape by freed women hostages
Earlier this week, one 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 alongside her brother Itay, 19, and their 21-year-old friend Omer Shem Tov.
The young Israeli woman was freed in a hostage exchange in November and told an Israeli parliamentary committee this week that ‘every Israeli woman who is being held captive in Gaza is being sexually abused’, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Maya said it was ‘unbelievable’ that the Israeli parliament is due to go on recess on April 8 for more than a month when more than 130 hostages are still held by Hamas.
‘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.
The relatives of those still held captive by Hamas terrorists said that their spirit has been broken by the recent revelations of rape by freed women hostages, as they fueled concerns that the remaining captives might also be facing similar abuse.