US President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about new opportunities to free the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza in the aftermath of the IDF’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
“The two leaders agreed that there is an opportunity to advance the release of the hostage and that they will work together to achieve this goal,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. Biden also congratulated Netanyahu and the IDF on the assassination, the PMO added.
Earlier US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, “We see an opportunity now that we want to seize to try to secure the release of the hostages.
“We’re going to work at that as rapidly as we possibly can,” Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One, en route to Germany.
Mossad Chief David Barnea held consultations during the day to begin to chart the best way forward, now that Sinwar is gone.
Since May 31, the main negotiators for a deal Qatar and Egypt had been working on a protracted three phase deal, which in the end was blocked by Sinwar.On Thursday, however, there was talk of alternative options. Netanyahu publicly called on Palestinians in Gaza guarding captives to free those hostages in exchange for safety. His statements followed reports that Israel could seek to deal individually with captors, rather than making a global deal with Hamas.
The US moved swiftly to hold talks with Israeli, Qatari, and Saudi Arabian officials in the aftermath of Sinwar’s death.
Blinken spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud from aboard Air Force One on Thursday as US officials awaited confirmation from Israel of Sinwar's death, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
"Over the past few weeks, there have been no negotiations for an end to the war because Sinwar has refused to negotiate. There's been no path to ending this war because Sinwar has refused to talk about releasing the hostages or coming to a ceasefire," Miller said. "We now see an opportunity with him having been removed from the battlefield, having been removed from the leadership of Hamas. We want to seize that opportunity."
Miller did note that it's still unclear who will be making decisions for Hamas in place of Sinwar.
"What we do know is that the person who had been the chief obstacle to moving forward with an end of the war is now fortuitously no longer with us," he said.
Of course, Miller said, there will be tough decisions that the Israelis will need to make to get an agreement to end this war.
Miller said the US has made clear a number of times that it will have very "direct, candid conversations about the need to make those tough decisions."
"But we weren't even in a place to do that when you have no one at the other end of the table, willing to even agree to negotiate," he said, adding that mediators were unable to bridge previous proposals.
The US will be having "private conversations" with Israel about the steps it wants to see it take toward achieving a ceasefire, according to Miller.
"What we'll be discussing with them is how they take those strategic objectives that they have met and turn that into an enduring strategic victory," he said. "And from our perspective, that means a path forward in Gaza that isn't just a military path forward for degrading Hamas and continuing to fight Hamas fighters over and over."
The US wants to see a path forward that brings the hostages home and sets the conditions for the "day after" where there is reconstruction and actual security in Gaza, and a political path forward for the people in Gaza that is determined by the people, Miller added.
Blinken also spoke with Israeli President Issac Herzog about a hostage deal.
“The President emphasized in the call that the issue of returning the hostages must be a top priority, and now there was an important opportunity to focus all resources and efforts on bringing the hostages back home,” Herzog’s office said.
US Secretary of State Lloyd Auston spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The Israeli Defense Minister “noted the urgency and unique opportunity that has been created and called on remaining Hamas terrorists to cease fire and immediately release the hostages,” his office said.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on his counterparts to support efforts to advance a deal, explaining that an opportunity had been created that should not be missed.“Sinwar’s assassination creates a possibility for the immediate release of the hostages and could lead to a new reality in Gaza - without Hamas and without Iranian control,” Katz said.“This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by Iran.“Israel needs your support and assistance now more than ever to advance these important goals together,” Katz stated.