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US President Joe Biden’s chief adviser said there would be a “significant pause” in the Israel-Hamas war if the hostages held by militants in Gaza are freed. According to Israeli officials, Hamas took about 240 people hostage after the October 7 attack. According to the Palestinian Authority’s Hamas government, Israel continues to carry out bombings and ground attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip, killing 12,300 people so far.
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“An increase in humanitarian relief, an increase in fuel, a pause … will come when the hostages are released,” Brett McGurk told a security conference in Bahrain. He said freeing a large number of hostages would “cause a significant disruption… and a major increase in humanitarian relief”. McGurk said Biden discussed the issue Friday evening with the Gulf ruler of Qatar, which is leading efforts to broker a ceasefire and the release of detainees.
The White House said Joe Biden and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani “discussed the urgent need to release all hostages held by Hamas without delay.” Two days ago, Joe Biden said he had “slight hope” of reaching a deal to free the hostages, believed to include about 10 US citizens. French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the hostages with al-Thani and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday, his office said.
Macron called for the immediate release of the detainees, eight of whom are French. Macron’s office said the three leaders also talked about strengthening their coordination to deliver aid to civilians in Gaza. Qatar’s efforts have led to the release of four prisoners so far. A fifth hostage, a soldier, was released in an Israeli operation. Israel’s military said this week it had recovered the bodies of two female hostages in Gaza. McGurk said on Saturday that the situation in the besieged Palestinian territories was “horrendous” and “intolerable”.
Israel has refused to heed calls for a ceasefire before the release of all hostages. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who attended the Bahrain conference, said it was “unacceptable” to link a humanitarian blockade to the release of hostages. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell weighed in on Gaza’s future, saying “Hamas can no longer control Gaza.”
The Palestinian Authority, based in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, “told me that they are ready and willing to take on this responsibility with the help of the international community,” Borrell said. He said Arab countries should play a role in shaping both the political and economic future for Gaza.
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