Negotiators are nearing an agreement with Hamas to initially release 50 civilians in return for Israel allowing more aid, including fuel, which comes with a limited pause in fighting, multiple sources told CBS News. Further releases of civilian hostages could follow.
There is no firm deal at this point, just a written draft agreement being adopted between the parties, who remain engaged in very difficult talks, mediated with the help of the US and Qatar, according to CBS News sources became known.
In an interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said that “many areas of pre-existing differences” have been “narrowed down” in the hostage negotiations and that the U.S. is “closer than… “We were in the process of reaching a final agreement.”
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Finer said it would not be helpful to publicly detail the evolving diplomacy, acknowledging that previous deals had been struck before they fell through. Last week, hopes were high that a diplomatic breakthrough was finally on the horizon, but two officials in the region argued that Israel’s military operation against Al-Shifa hospital had complicated diplomacy with Hamas.
A source familiar with the draft agreement told CBS News that the proposal as it stands calls for the release of 50 hostages on the first day, with a limited break in combat lasting about four days and lasting six hours per day. If this release and break occurs as planned, there would be a second release of around 20 to 25 hostages, according to this source. White House officials declined to comment on the sensitive diplomacy.
In a news conference in Doha on Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani described the remaining sticking points in the emerging deal between Israel and Hamas as “very minor” logistical matters and said the parties were “close to an agreement.” .”
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speaks during a press conference with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell in Doha, November 19, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
Sources familiar with the talks said there had been several complicating issues recently, including whether there would be top-down monitoring during the releases. Israel has also demanded that Hamas account for the prisoners it holds or may receive from other militant groups such as Islamic Jihad, as the total number of more than 200 hostages is only an estimate. Last week, two of the missing people believed to be hostages, Noa Marciano and Yehudit Weiss, were found dead by the IDF near the 45,000 square meter Al-Shifa hospital complex in Gaza. The remains of those slaughtered by the terrorist group Hamas and other militants during the October 7 attack in Israel continue to be identified.
“Obviously Gaza is an extremely dangerous place for civilians and hostages,” Finer told CBS’s Margaret Brennan, “so time is of the essence.”
Finer said he wouldn’t use the phrase “time is running out,” but “we feel strongly that this should happen as quickly as possible.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell last week that Israel had “strong indications” that hostages were being held at al-Shifa Hospital, which was one of the reasons he gave for Israel’s decision Defense Forces called to enter al-Shifa. Shifa. However, Netanyahu added: “If there were any, they were eliminated.”
The United States has not provided intelligence to confirm that assessment, but last week released downgraded intelligence that members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were operating a “command and control node” from Al-Shifa Hospital and the tunnels below and used this for both weapons and hostages.
Finer said the US was still confident in its assessment and said the Israeli military was still “exploiting” the al-Shifa facility to find more information.
On Saturday in Manama, President Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk described the hostage talks as intense and ongoing before leaving for Doha in the evening for meetings with the Qatari prime minister. In public comments, McGurk reiterated Israel’s call for the release of a “large number of hostages” to bring about a “significant lull in fighting” and what he called a “massive” wave of humanitarian aid. He acknowledged that one of Hamas’s demands was to receive fuel and humanitarian aid. McGurk did not publicly mention an earlier request by Hamas to release an unspecified number of Palestinian women and children from Israeli detention centers.
“This is the deal they negotiated,” McGurk said in the early days. McGurk said the responsibility remains with Hamas to release all hostages – “the women, the children, the toddlers, the babies, all of them.”
CIA Director Bill Burns is back in Washington but remains involved following his meetings with the Mossad chief in recent weeks. President Biden himself has been on the phone, calling the Emir of Qatar on November 12 and as recently as Friday, an indication that a solution is near.
Qatar is using its relationship with Hamas as an intermediary, and the United States is helping to broker proposals that are passed from a close circle in Doha to Hamas leaders in Gaza as well as to Israel’s five-member war cabinet led by Netanyahu.
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