Father of US-Israeli hostage denies American families pushing Biden to make separate deal
Jonathan Dekel-Chen responds after NBC quotes sources saying US has list of prisoners that might be offered in an exchange but regards comprehensive deal as best way forward
The father of a US-Israeli held hostage in Gaza said Thursday there is no truth to a report that the families of captives with American citizenship are petitioning the Biden administration to cut a unilateral deal with Hamas to free their loved ones.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui Dekel-Chen was kidnapped from Nir Oz on October 7, told Channel 12 that the report, carried by NBC News on Wednesday, is false.
“I am in continuous contact with the other American families and all levels of the US government,” he said. “The report that the American families are demanding a separate US-Hamas is not correct.
“I am in the room [for the meetings administration officials hold with the families of the hostages], and anything else is speculation,” he said.
Dekel-Chen added that US officials are telling him they are doing everything they can to advance the deal that is “on the table” and that they are waiting for the agreement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
NBC News had reported that the relatives met on Sunday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and urged the consideration of a separate deal, hours after the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages executed by Hamas in Gaza last week, including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
There are seven hostages with dual US-Israeli citizenship; four of them have been declared dead.
The NBC News report said the relatives pushed for Washington to look at other ways of securing freedom for their loved ones. It said officials told the families they would look at “every option” but that a deal between Israel and Hamas was still the best way to proceed, the report said, citing people familiar with the meeting.
Those sources told the outlet that the idea of a unilateral deal had been floated as family members and some administration officials were becoming convinced that Netanyahu will not reach an agreement with Hamas. Critics accuse Netanyahu of shying away from a deal to satisfy far-right members of his coalition, who want the war to continue until Hamas is destroyed.
Ninety-seven of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including seven US citizens. This total includes the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, three of whom are American.
In an indication that a unilateral deal is being mulled, the Biden administration has drawn up a list of prisoners held in the US that Hamas might trade in exchange for American hostages, two former and two current US officials aware of the plans told NBC. According to one official, there are five names on the list.
Current and former officials said the possible prisoners the US has to offer include the leaders of a Texas-based charity, Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The five heads of the charity were in 2008 convicted of sending over $12 million to Hamas. They are serving between 20 and 65 years in prison.
However, one administration official told the network that the idea of cutting a separate deal with Hamas is not realistic as the US does not have enough to bargain with for the American hostages.
“Hamas wants two things that only Israel can deliver: a ceasefire and nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli jails,” the unnamed official said. “Every other proposal has gone nowhere because that is what Hamas demands for the hostages,” the official added.
NBC News said that neither the Qatari government, which has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, nor a representative of the families of US hostages would comment on the report.
The hostages were taken as Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel responded with a military offensive to destroy Hamas in Gaza and free the hostages.
On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller was asked during a press briefing if Washington was considering a unilateral deal with Hamas.
“Our entire focus has been on securing an agreement to get home all the hostages. That, of course, includes the American hostages,” he said. “Our first priority is always the safety and security of American citizens overseas. We are focused on a deal that would bring them home, along with all the other American hostages.
Asked whether that could also mean a unilateral deal, Miller said only, “We are working on a deal to get all of them home.”
In June, NBC News had a similar report of discussions for a unilateral deal, but the proposal did not advance at the time, with some senior administration officials strongly against it, the network said. US President Joe Biden also sought at the time to continue the track of obtaining a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war.
At the time, Washington asked Qatari officials to put out feelers to Hamas, US officials told NBC News. However, the move did not get off the ground, they said.
