Blinken leaves door open for parallel deal with Hamas for US hostages

Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to say Thursday whether the U.S. could pursue a separate agreement with Hamas to release U.S. citizens still held hostage by the organization in Gaza, while negotiations with Israel continue on a potential ceasefire. -fire.

Hamas negotiators have only partially accepted a US-led proposal that would allow for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Gaza, with some of the group’s demands still unacceptable, according to the Biden administration.

The Israeli administration and leaders pressed Hamas to fully accept the deal for weeks, and the United Nations endorsed it with a Security Council vote on Monday. However, if that deal fails, U.S. officials have discussed working with Hamas through Qatari negotiators without Israel, NBC News reported.

NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie pressed Blinken on the possibility on Thursday, which he dismissed.

“Savannah, when I was in Israel a few days ago, I met with the families of the American hostages. There are eight families. I met with them repeatedly,” he said. “President Biden met with them. Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor, met with them.”

“And our commitment, my commitment, my priority, will always be to American citizens, wherever they are in danger, whether they are being unjustly detained, whether they are being held hostage, my number one responsibility is to do everything I can do to get them out of danger”, added the secretary.

Guthrie asked again, “Is that a yes?”

“Now, the best way to do that — the best way to do that is through this agreement, that’s the quickest way to do it,” Blinken continued. “If the deal doesn’t work, we will always be looking at what we can do, if there is anything we can do to get our people home.”

Reports indicate that Hamas holds five American citizens among the hostages taken from Israel on October 7, the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Authorities also hope to recover the remains of three Americans who were killed that day but still taken to Gaza.

The anonymous Biden administration officials told NBC News that a unilateral agreement could be in Hamas’s interest to domestically pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he resists negotiations.

Last week, Israeli authorities estimated that around 120 hostages were still being held by Hamas and that 43 of them had died in captivity.

Blinken visited the Middle East again earlier this week, further urging the Hams to accept the broader ceasefire agreement with Israel.

“I know there are those who are pessimistic about the prospects,” he said on Monday in Egypt. “This is understandable. Hamas continues to show extraordinary cynicism in its actions, a lack of interest not only in the well-being and security of Israelis, but also of Palestinians.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story