Hamas doesn’t want a hostage deal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday, explaining this is one of the reasons Doha asked that the group leave Qatar.
“We’ve been working, as you know, on trying to get an agreement on a hostage and ceasefire deal,” Blinken said on the 404th day that the hostages have been in captivity.
“Hamas, tragically, has demonstrated that it’s not going to engage on that despite the renewed efforts we’ve made in recent weeks,” Blinken stated.
“It’s one of the reasons why Qatar has told them to leave Qatar,” he said, confirming that Doha did indeed tell Hamas to leave.
Qatar denied it had issued such an order when it announced last Saturday that it had suspended its participation in the talks. It blamed both Israel and Hamas for the lack of any progress, explaining it would return to the talks only once Hamas and Israel showed they were serious about making a deal.
Qatar and Egypt had been the main mediators for a deal, with the help of the United States.
Hostages running out of time
Blinken spoke as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video on Wednesday of Russian-Israeli hostage Alexander Troufanov, warning he and other captives were running out of time.
Donald Trump’s reelection to the US Presidency last week has given the Biden administration only some three months to finalize a deal. US President Joe Biden’s lame duck status limits his ability to pressure Hamas into a deal.
Biden discussed efforts toward a hostage deal with Israeli President Isaac Herzog when the two men met at the White House on Tuesday
Blinken similarly spoke about the hostages during his conversation with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Monday.
In Brussels on Wednesday, Blinken said he continued to be startled by the global silence with regard to Hamas and the hostages.
“It’s extraordinary to me that from almost day one, there is no focus on Hamas and almost deafening silence around the world on Hamas.
Hamas, he said, has “rejected engaging on the hostage/ceasefire proposals,” including “smaller proposals that would have cost it nothing” and would have seen the release of “a small number of hostages” in exchange for “Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.”
On top of that, Blinken said, “A couple of weeks ago Israel said we will guarantee safe passage for every Hamas militant [terrorist] out of Gaza; just give us the hostages back. And they refused. Is anyone talking about that? The world has been silent on that, too.”