Hamas hostage killings and more and more The harsh public position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu A senior official of the Biden administration said that it has complicated the United States’ push for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“90 percent of this deal has been agreed,” but two key issues remain, the official said: the identity of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for those still held in Gaza, and the “redeployment” of Israeli forces in the enclave. He suggested that there would be no deal unless he stayed in a region known as Netanyahu Corridor of Philadelphia.
The Israeli leader’s repeated public interventions also “complicated” the work, the official said.
The senior official, who provided perhaps the most detailed view of the talks, told reporters at a crucial moment that Netanyahu had stuck to his demand despite diplomatic pressure and angry domestic protests.
The United States has been leading talks with Qatar and Egypt for months and hopes to broker a deal that would end Israel’s nearly year-long assault on Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the enclave. Since the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
So far, the U.S. has released limited details of the talks, but the official said that after the hostage killings and Netanyahu’s public comments, the Biden administration was forced to shed light on “what’s really at the table.” .”
Read more: What is “Philadelphia’s Corridor”?
The briefing came as NBC News revealed the families of American hostages held by Hamas He pressured the White House to seriously consider making a unilateral deal with the militant group for the release of their loved ones.
The negotiated prospective agreement does not specifically mention the Philadelphia Corridor, a narrow strip of land on the Gaza side of the enclave’s border with Egypt, the official told reporters.
Netanyahu has insisted in multiple press conferences this week that Israel must maintain a military presence in the corridor to prevent Hamas from using the border region, including to smuggle weapons into Gaza.
The US official suggested that Netanyahu’s public comments had complicated things, saying that “it’s not always particularly helpful to lay out concrete positions in the middle of negotiations.”
Shedding fresh light on how the debate over the Philadelphia Corridor has affected the talks, a US official said that under the prospective agreement, the first phase of the ceasefire included the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all “populated areas” in Gaza. But they said that there was a dispute about whether the corridor belongs to this category or not.
They said Israeli negotiators had come up with a proposal over the past two weeks that would “significantly reduce” their presence along the corridor, which would be consistent with the deal. But “until you have a deal, you don’t have a deal,” the senior official said.
And they said the Philadelphia Corridor isn’t the only issue, with the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for hostages a point of contention made even more complicated by last weekend’s news.
The killings brought fresh anguish to families of the hostages, who had hoped their loved ones would be freed under the ceasefire deal, and fueled widespread protests in Israel calling on Netanyahu to broker a deal. But they also implied “fewer hostages as part of the deal,” meaning fewer Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange, the official said.
“It’s tragic and it’s terrible and, you know, it affects all of us,” the US official said. But they said: “The hostages do not come home, the war does not stop until there is an agreement with you.”
The killings “color the talks and bring a sense of urgency to the process, but it casts doubt on Hamas’ willingness to make any kind of deal,” the official added.
Israel’s foreign minister offered the same Thursday. “Anyone who murdered six hostages in cold blood would not agree,” said Israel Katz. Right-wing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said earlier this week that he was “trying to stop negotiations with Hamas” after the hostages were killed.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of trying to “obstruct” the talks. In a Telegram post on Thursday morning, the militant group said the Israeli leader’s insistence on keeping troops in the Philadelphia corridor was an attempt to prolong the conflict.
More than 40,000 people have died in Gaza, according to local health officials, since Israel launched its military offensive in the enclave following a Hamas attack that killed nearly 1,200 people and took nearly 250 hostages, Israeli officials said.
According to Israeli officials, about 100 people are being held hostage in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.