US confirms fresh push for Gaza deal; Egyptian mediators due in Israel
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says new Lebanon ceasefire will increase pressure on Hamas after months of stalled negotiations
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden will launch a renewed drive for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal Wednesday now that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a truce in Lebanon, his national security adviser said, further confirming the president’s comments the previous day.
The truce that began before dawn Wednesday in south Lebanon means the Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah is no longer fighting to support Hamas in Gaza. That will increase pressure on the Palestinian terror group to agree to a deal, Jake Sullivan told MSNBC.
Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu right before the US- and French-brokered truce with Hezbollah was announced Tuesday and they agreed to try again for a Gaza agreement that has eluded negotiators for months, Sullivan said.
“President Biden intends to begin that work today by having his envoys engage with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region,” Sullivan said.
“We believe that this is the beginning of an opportunity for a more stable Middle East in which Israel’s security is assured and US interests are secured,” he added.
An Egyptian security delegation will travel to Israel tomorrow in an effort to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
The Israel-Hezbollah deal was a rare boost for Biden as he prepares to leave the White House and be replaced by President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
As he announced the agreement Tuesday, Biden said the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Israel would make another push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel is still at war with Hamas following the Palestinian group’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which saw terrorists infiltrate the south of the country, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251.
A senior US official briefing reporters on Tuesday clarified that the Biden administration does not view Turkey as a new mediator between Israel and Hamas.
“What the president meant is that we have certain individuals and parties who are now spending time in Turkey, and so [Turkey] was added. But it was not to suggest that they are a broker or a negotiator. It’s to say that we will leave no stone unturned in trying to do this,” said the US official.
The US revealed earlier this month that it had asked Qatar to oust Hamas leaders from the country in late October due to the terror group’s extended refusal to engage in hostage negotiations. Those Hamas officials then moved to Turkey. While the US has cautioned Ankara against hosting Hamas leaders, it has stopped short of requesting the extradition of Khaled Mashaal, who is under US indictment.
Arab officials speaking to The Times of Israel last week called into question the decision to oust Hamas from Qatar if negotiations were just going to continue in Ankara under largely the same format.
Qatar confirmed its decision to oust Hamas officials and temporarily halt its mediation efforts. It said it was prepared to resume that role if the sides demonstrate willingness to negotiate in good faith. Doha has yet to declare that Israel and Hamas have done so.
The US official briefing reporters Tuesday maintained that Hamas’s realization following Tuesday’s news that “Hezbollah has decided to abandon them and delink the two conflicts” amounted to “a powerful change of reality on the ground, and we have to see if that’s enough” to spark a breakthrough in hostage talks.
It is believed that 97 of the hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
During his speech, Biden also said Washington would push for a long-explored deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
