US squeezed Qatar to scrap Hamas demand that female hostages under 50 be designated soldiers — official

US President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with the Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office of the White House, January 31, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon/ File)
US President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with the Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office of the White House, January 31, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Alex Brandon/ File)

The US exerted significant pressure over Qatar to sweeten Israel’s hostage release deal terms, says a senior Israeli official briefing reporters.

US President Joe Biden sent CIA chief William Burns to Qatar in order to quash a Hamas demand to designate all Israeli women under 50 as soldiers, and instead to use that classification only for the five women soldiers on active duty who are held by the terror group, the official says.

Additionally, the requirement for the International Red Cross to visit all remaining hostages is a binding element of the deal, the official says, and the US, Egypt, and Qatar will apply pressure to ensure it is honored.

The entire deal, the official adds, is not formalized on a signed document, but rather was ratified by mutual announcement — by Israel to the US, and Hamas to Qatar. Hamas reportedly also made assurances to Egypt.

While the deal makes provisions for the return of up to 80 hostages, that would leave at some 160 hostages remaining in Gaza after its terms are completed.

Total hostage numbers are not final because Israel believes eight people are still missing nearly seven weeks after Hamas rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, including two foreign nationals and six Israeli citizens.

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