US ‘confident’ Qatar exerting as much pressure as possible on Hamas in hostage talks

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says the Biden administration “still [has] not seen the kind of rigorous [Israeli] planning for the end of the conflict that we think is essential.”

Miller notes during a press briefing that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz have recently pushed for such planning, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has largely been mum.

“Without a plan for the day after, there won’t be a day after,” Miller says, warning that Israel will face continued insurgency unless it advances a viable alternative to Hamas in Gaza.

Miller also says the US is “confident” that Qatar is exerting as much pressure as possible on Hamas in the hostage negotiations.

“We greatly value the role Qatar has played, including in sending the appropriate level of messages to Hamas,” Miller says during a press briefing.

In his call yesterday with the emir of Qatar, US President Joe Biden urged Doha “to use all appropriate measures to secure Hamas’s acceptance of the deal.”