Nearly one year after the initial attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists, the Biden White House questions whether the Iranian-backed group even wants to make a deal that would result in a ceasefire and the remaining hostages being released.
According to U.S. officials, the Biden-Harris Administration has come to terms with the fact that Hamas may never want a deal as the terrorist group continues to hold back on accepting negotiation terms since its initial attack last October. The attack killed 1,200 people, in addition to the six hostages that were found murdered last weekend, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, by Hamas.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met in the White House Situation Room with their national security team to discuss if a hostage-release and ceasefire deal is even possible— concerned that such an agreement is off the table.
“We still think the deal is the only way to save the lives of the hostages and stop the war. But the executions not only increased our sense of urgency but also called into question Hamas' willingness to do a deal of any kind," a U.S. official told Axios.
The administration also wondered whether Hamas would agree to a deal if the U.S. pressured Israel to remove its Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which are deployed along the Egypt-Gaza border. However, a U.S. official pointed out that such an offer would “become the foundation for future negotiations that would be more favorable to Hamas.”
Biden is reportedly considering presenting a final proposal to Hamas for the release of the remaining hostages. However, the outlet noted that the president has shied away from that idea since.
“The text is basically done except for two paragraphs and the annexes of the prisoner exchange and two maps of IDF deployment in Gaza during the first phase of the deal," a U.S. official said. “We all feel the urgency, but what happened last weekend changed the character of the discussion. But we do want to try and get something together.”
U.S. officials also advised the Biden-Harris Administration not to push for a “proposal that gives Hamas additional concessions and instead focus on applying more pressure and accountability measures against Hamas.”
During the meeting, the Department of Justice told the president its plans to release indictments against Hamas leaders, which have been sealed since February, as the terrorist groups continue to refuse to accept agreement proposals.
Hamas’ list of demands for a ceasefire deal is a “very frustrating process,” a U.S. official told the outlet. “Hamas presented demands that were different from what was agreed on in the past.”