A woman plasters photos of Israeli children from Kibbutz Kfar Azza missing and held captive in Gaza, on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel. The hostages, mostly Israeli citizens, were kidnapped during an Oct. 7 Hamas cross-border attack in Israel and have been held in Gaza since then. Ariel Schalit/AP

Biden says US ‘very close’ to deal with Hamas to release Gaza hostages

Haisten Willis November 21, 12:35 PM November 21, 12:35 PM Video Embed

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that an agreement to release hostages in Gaza may be close as the contours of the possible deal come to light.

Hamas took more than 200 Israeli and American hostages during its Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, and United States leaders have been part of negotiations to get them back ever since. Biden implied that an announcement could be imminent.

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“As you all know, I’ve spoken recently about it with both [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and the emir of Qatar,” Biden said. “My team has been in the region shuttling between the capital. We are now very close, very close.”

A U.S. official gave a similar message to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday morning, saying, “We are the closest we’ve been to a deal.”

The remarks come as various news outlets report that an agreement will likely include releasing 50 women and children being held hostage in exchange for a four- to five-day pause in fighting and the release of three Palestinian prisoners for every civilian hostage. Those details could change, or the deal could fall apart as it is not finalized.

Biden did not mention specifics during his remarks.

“We can bring some of these hostages home very soon, but I don’t want to get into the details because nothing is done until it’s done,” Biden said. “When we have more to say, we will, but things are looking good at the moment.”

He made similar remarks Monday, saying, “I believe so,” when asked if a hostage deal was near.

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The meeting Biden spoke at Tuesday was to discuss ways to combat fentanyl trafficking in the U.S. The president spoke about that as well before the press were ushered out.

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He made one more hostage-related comment in response to shouted questions from reporters as they were leaving.

“There will be plenty of time to talk about the hostages,” Biden said.

© 2023 Washington Examiner

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