2023-11-13 06:25:00
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahuspoke this Sunday with the American media about a possible agreement to free the hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but declined to provide details for fear of scuttling the plan. While on his side the American president Joe Biden addresses with the emir of Qatar negotiations for a hostage exchange.
Netanyahu was consulted on the program “Meet the Press“, of the chain NBC, about the possibility of an agreement to free women, children and elderly hostages of Hamas: “Is there a possibility of an agreement?” the journalist asked him. “It could be,” the ruler responded, “but the less I express myself on the subject, the more I increase the chances of it materializing,” he added.
According to Netanyahu, things were moving forward thanks to Israeli military pressure in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas, the agency reported. AFP.
The Israeli embassy released a video of the children kidnapped by Hamas and demanded their release
“We were nowhere near an agreement until we began ground operations“, Netanyahu said. “But the moment we started ground operations, things started to change,” he alleged.
“Putting pressure on the Hamas leadership is what can produce an agreement, and if there is an agreement, we will talk about it when there is one, we will announce it if it is reached,” he said.
The Israeli army estimates that some 240 people (21 of them Argentinians) were taken hostage and transferred to the Gaza Strip during the initial attack by Hamason October 7.
Among these captives there are at least 30 minorsincluding young children, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu was also on a talk show on the network CNN. When asked if he agrees with the US position that a extended pause to fighting in Gaza to safely release hostagessaid: “We don’t disagree with that. We need to get our hostages out.”
For his part, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council, John Kirbytold MSNBC that there were “active negotiations and conversations with our counterparts in the region” about a possible agreement on the hostages.
But, like Netanyahu, he did not reveal the details. “The less said publicly about these delicate negotiations and conversations, the better, probably,” Kirby said.
Two senior Hamas officials assured that the attack on Israel was to generate a “permanent state of war”
In his appearances, Netanyahu also addressed the issue of Gaza hospitalswho have been caught up in the fighting, particularly Al Shifa, the largest hospital in the Hamas-ruled territory.
“There is no reason why we can’t get patients out of there,” the prime minister told CNN. “We are telling them to leave, and in fact we are creating, helping them, by creating safe brokers“through which patients and others could be evacuated to areas less affected by operations in southern Gaza, he said.
According to Netanyahu, some 100 patients have already been evacuated from Al Shifa hospital.
Biden addresses negotiations for a hostage exchange with the emir of Qatar
The president of United States, Joe Bidenhad a telephone conversation this Sunday with the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Zanito address the status of contacts for the release of the hostages held by Palestinian militias in Gaza.
“He has personally expressed his gratitude to Qatar and Sheikh Tamim for their previous efforts to secure the release of Hamas hostages, including two American citizens, and efforts to secure further releases,” the White House said in a statement.
Additionally, Biden “has unequivocally condemned the kidnapping of hostages by Hamas, including many young children, one of them a 3-year-old US citizen whose parents were murdered by Hamas on October 7.” This information had not been disclosed until now.
“The two leaders agree that the hostages should be released as soon as possible,” added the US Presidency.
Biden and Al Zani also addressed the need to protect Gaza civilians and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Biden “has affirmed his vision of a Palestinian state in which Palestinians and Israelis can live with stability and dignity,” to which Hamas is an “obstacle.”
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