The United States has a “team on the ground” working “by the hour” on a potential deal, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.
“We are in some intense negotiations; hopefully they’ll come out the right way and we’ll have good news to talk about with multiple hostages getting free,” he said. “But we don’t have a deal right now, and until we do, the less said the better.”
A deal could involve the swapping of dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in return for a truce of a few days in the war, along with the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, according to media reports.
Qatar, which maintains communications with Israel, Hamas and the U.S., is also reportedly in the midst of the negotiations. Qatari officials have already helped secure the release of a few Israeli prisoners.
President Biden has also hinted at a deal, telling reporters at a press conference Wednesday night that he was “deeply involved in moving on the hostage negotiation.”
“We’ve gotten great cooperation from the Qataris. I’ve spoken with them as well a number of times,” Biden said. “I’m mildly hopeful.”
Hamas took about 239 hostages in its Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
