US considering unilateral deal with Hamas on hostage release
World
US considering unilateral deal with Hamas on hostage release
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US officials have considered negotiating a unilateral deal with Palestinian Hamas to release five American hostages held in Gaza if ceasefire talks involving Israel fail, NBC News reported on Monday.
The United States says Hamas is holding five Americans who were taken hostage in the group's deadly Oct 7 incursion inside Israel, which prompted Israel's massive retaliation. Officials are hoping to recover the bodies of three other Americans who were killed that day, NBC reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asked about the report as he left Cairo said, "The best way, the most effective way to get everyone home, including the American hostages, is through this proposal, is through the ceasefire deal that's on the table right now."
Any unilateral talks would be conducted through Qatari negotiators and would not involve Israel, the unidentified officials, who NBC said have all been briefed on the negotiations, told the network.
The officials said Hamas would have an incentive to reach such a deal with Washington because it would strain US-Israel relations further and add pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been criticized at home for not doing more to get the hostages out.
Asked about the report, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters that all countries should do whatever they can to get hostages out.
