Blinken says hostage deal still possible

Burns meets Netanyahu in Israel

A hostage deal is still possible, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday as CIA Director William Burns visited Israel after holding talks in Cairo which had appeared to be at a standstill.

“We’re now in the process with our counterparts from Qatar, from Egypt, from Israel, in working on that and working very intensely on that with the goal of trying to find an agreement and I believe that it is possible,” Blinken said at a news conference during a visit to Albania.

“There are some very, very hard issues that have to be resolved. But we’re committed to doing everything we can to move forward and to see if we can reach an agreement,” Blinken said.

Talks involving intelligence chiefs from the US, Egypt, Israel, and Qatar on a deal that would see a pause in Israel’s four-month-old war in Gaza ended without a breakthrough on Tuesday.

Asked whether an agreement could be reached on a break in hostilities before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on March 10, Blinken said an earlier response from Hamas on a potential deal had included some “clear non-starters” but offered the possibility of working toward an agreement.

In Tel Aviv, Burns met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several officials including Mossad Director David Barnea and National Security Council Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi

Israeli officials explained that Netanyahu’s “maximum pressure” policy which focused on strong military pressure and a firm stand in the negotiations, was the only way to force Hamas to drop its “delusional”: demands and bring about the release of the remaining 134 hostages.

At the meeting, Netanyahu demanded to know whether the captives had received the drugs that the USA, France and Qatar had guaranteed would arrive.

The meeting took place just one day after Netanyahu had refused to authorize the return of an Israeli delegation to Cairo, a move that he reportedly took without consulting with the war cabinet.

An Israeli delegation had participated in talks on Tuesday. The Prime Minister’s Office had said that it had not received in Cairo any new proposal from Hamas on the release of our hostages.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh

said in a statement on Thursday that any agreement between Israel and Hamas should secure a ceasefire and an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza in addition to achieving a serious prisoner swap deal,

The war cabinet met on

Thursday night to discuss the stalemate and other issues relating to the Gaza war at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, as did the security cabinet.

Relatives of the hostages rallied outside, blocking roads and

chaining themselves to the gate of the defense headquarters demanding that Netanyahu send a delegation to Cairo.

“This is the last chance! Don’t sacrifice them!,” they chanted.

Reuters contributed to this report.