From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Blinken, Sullivan discuss efforts to release hostages in Davos meetings with Qatari PM
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to negotiate the release of the remaining 136 hostages in Gaza during separate meetings with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, White House spokesman John Kirby says.
White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk was also in Doha earlier this week for meetings with Qatari leaders on the same issue, Kirby says.
“We are having very serious and intensive discussions in Qatar about the possibility for another deal… [and] we’re hopeful that it can bear fruit soon,” the White House spokesman says, echoing statements he has made over the past month and a half that have not seen any substantive progress.
Hamas says it will not release the hostages for anything less than a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, which Israel has rejected off-hand.
Kirby highlights the propaganda videos of the hostages published by Hamas this week, which he says “are a reminder of [the terror group’s] cruelty and barbarism.”
He notes that they featured Noa Argamani, who was supposed to have been released along with the other female hostages during the seven-day truce in late November, but that Hamas backed out of the deal.
Six US citizens are counted among the remaining living hostages.
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