US welcomes Qatar deal to deliver medicine to Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza

The Biden administration welcomed an announcement by Qatar that it had reached an agreement to deliver medicine to Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, says National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

Earlier Tuesday, the White House said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to negotiate the release of the remaining hostages during separate meetings with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk was also in Doha earlier this week for meetings with Qatari leaders on the same issue, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Six US citizens are counted among the remaining living hostages who number about 100. Israel has confirmed the deaths of 27 hostages – including two whose deaths were announced earlier Tuesday — held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. One more person has been listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

“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,” Kirby said, 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 outright.