With attempts to forge a hostage release deal seemingly adrift, US President Joe Biden was expected on Monday to convene his National Security Council to try to find a way forward to free hostages from Hamas captivity and end the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
White House officials told senior Egyptian and Qatari officials earlier Monday that the US was “frustrated” with new Hamas demands on the release of prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, which it is seeking in exchange for hostages it has held since October 7, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The Biden administration also asked Cairo and Doha to push Hamas to back off its recent demands, according to the source, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The talks come after reports indicated growing pessimism in the US that a deal will be possible, with a senior US official describing new Hamas demands that terrorists serving life sentences be released for civilian hostages in the first stage as a “poison pill,” in remarks reported by the Washington Post Sunday.
Until now, the formula was that hardened terrorists would only be released for kidnapped IDF soldiers — including 150 life-term murderers to be released from Israeli jails during the first phase in return for the five female surveillance soldiers held hostage. READ MORE
