Blinken Says Hamas Response on Hostages Opens Space for Deal

(Bloomberg) — Israel and the US offered conflicting interpretations of Hamas’s response to a proposal to pause fighting and release dozens of hostages, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeming to reject it out of hand and Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying it opened space for a deal.

“While there are some clear nonstarters in Hamas’s response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there,” Blinken told reporters at a briefing Wednesday night in Tel Aviv. “We also see space in what came back to pursue negotiations to see if we can get to an agreement, and that’s what we intend to do.”

The remarks from Blinken were in keeping with his relatively upbeat tone as the US, along with Qatar and Egypt, try to broker an agreement to bring a halt to the fighting that began when Hamas, which is labeled a terrorist group by the US and the European Union, attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The Biden administration says a halt in the fighting is the only way to reduce regional tensions that have pulled the US in deeper.

Those comments stood in contrast to remarks from Netanyahu, whose assessment of the Hamas response was far more downbeat.

“Surrendering to the delusional demands of Hamas not only will not lead to the release of the hostages, it will only invite another massacre,” Netanyahu said in a news conference hours before Blinken spoke. He also said Israel would press on with its fight.

Aftermath of Israeli Airstrikes in Deir Al-Balah

“There is no other solution than total victory,” Netanyahu said. “If Hamas survives in Gaza, it is only a matter of time until the next massacre, and the evil axis of Iran and its affiliates will continue its campaign of killing and aggression unhindered.”

The conflicting public comments highlight the difficulty in reaching any agreement for a temporary truce or a more enduring cease-fire in Gaza. Blinken’s visit has involved talks with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Israel.

Blinken is on his fifth trip to the region since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. The US has sought to ease the fighting and moderate Israel’s response after it launched a punishing military campaign on the Gaza Strip that’s killed some 27,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

About 100 hostages were freed during an earlier, week-long truce that ended on Dec. 1. The fate of the remaining captives held in Gaza is dominating political discussion in Israel. The military announced on Tuesday that of the 136 still there, 31 are dead. Officials say an additional 20 may also be dead but this isn’t clear.

In some of his sternest remarks yet, Blinken again urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties as it pursues its effort to stamp out Hamas.

“Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrible way on Oct. 7, the hostages have been dehumanized every day since, but that cannot be a license to dehumanize others,” Blinken said. “The overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the attacks of Oct. 7.”

“We cannot, we must not lose sight of that,” he said. “We cannot, we must not, lose sight of our common humanity.”

(Updates with additional Blinken comment in final three paragraphs)

Most Read from Bloomberg

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.