2023-12-13 16:36:00
People view photographs of some of the people taken hostage by Hamas in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images/FILE).
Hamas has not responded to attempts made in the last days to try to resume negotiations on the hostages, a source familiar with the negotiations told CNN, as the United States and other mediators try to revive talks that would allow the release of more hostages kidnapped on October 7.
Qatar – which continues to play the role of interlocutor – has transmitted to Hamas new ideas to try to get more hostages out of Gaza, including a possible deal that would free not only the remaining female hostages but also the men, according to a source familiar with the efforts and a senior US official.
“This is not an active negotiation, but a real exploration of ideas on how to get this going,” the senior US official declared.
However, Hamas has not responded to contacts, according to the source.
Qatar speaks to Hamas policymakers in Gaza, who relay messages to the group’s leaders in Gaza, who are actively trying to avoid detection by Israel. US officials had claimed that getting answers from Hamas was an incredibly cumbersome process during the first round of negotiations that led to the release of a number of hostages. It may now be even more difficult for Hamas leaders to engage in talks, given Israeli interest in pursuing them.
At the same time, Israel, which resumed its military operation once morest Hamas following a seven-day truce, believes that its targeted offensive once morest southern Gaza – and Khan Yunis in particular – should put additional pressure on Hamas that might prove useful to the release of more hostages, according to sources. Some US officials agree that military pressure may have the effect of finally bringing Hamas back to the negotiating table.
“It may be a time for Hamas to reconsider coming back to the table in a real way,” the senior US official said.
Formal negotiations have not resumed since hostage talks in Doha, Qatar’s capital, broke down earlier this month. However, Israel, the United States and Qatar have continued to discuss ways to try to restart talks, according to multiple sources, and more than 100 hostages are believed to remain held in Gaza. “We have never stopped,” said a source familiar with the talks.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office believes there are 135 hostages left in Gaza, 116 of whom are alive.
Israel’s view that Hamas should release the remaining hostages first has not changed, according to the sources. Hamas has refused to do so, arguing that the remaining women are considered soldiers – a claim Israel rejects.
The White House declared that the whereregardings of eight Americans – seven men and one woman – remain unknown.
The apparent lack of progress in freeing the hostages comes as President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet in person for the first time with some of the families of the American hostages this Wednesday at the White House.
Meanwhile, Israel has informed the United States that it has begun “carefully testing” flooding some of Hamas’ tunnels with seawater “on a limited basis” to see if it works to degrade the group’s tunnel network on a larger scale. The Israelis have assured their American counterparts that they are only doing this in tunnels where they do not believe there are hostages.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Biden said he had heard “claims” that there are currently no hostages in those tunnels, but that his administration has not been able to confirm that beyond a doubt: “I don’t know for a fact.” he claimed.
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