US National Security Adviser Sullivan set to meet US hostage families ahead of trip to Israel

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with the families of the remaining American hostages being held in Gaza this afternoon at the White House ahead of his travel to Israel this week, where he will be working to advance a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Developments in Syria will also be on the agenda during Sullivan’s meetings with Israeli leaders. However, the hostage deal effort will be the main topic, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says during a briefing with reporters.

“One would hope that recent developments in Syria reinforce for [Hamas] that they are just increasingly isolated and ought to take a deal… They can’t rely on Hezbollah, they certainly can’t rely on Iran,” Kirby says, asserting that Hamas continues to be the main obstacle to a deal.

Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have privately held the opposite view, blaming the impasse on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to end the war in exchange for a hostage deal, which Doha and Cairo deem as a reasonable exchange.

Kirby acknowledges that the sides are not on the brink of a deal, but says the US thinks one is possible and is working tirelessly to do one.

Pressed repeatedly on Israel’s takeover of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, Kirby refrains from criticizing the operation, saying the US recognizes that Israel “lives in a tough neighborhood” and that the US supports Israel’s right to defend itself.

Yesterday, the State Department noted that Israel understandably is acting to ensure that vacuums created by the fleeing of Assad-backed Syrian troops from the Golan Heights are not filled by terror groups. However, it noted Israel’s assertions that its military operations in Syria are temporary and that Washington wants them to remain that way.