Optimism increases about prospects for a Gaza ceasefire deal, but families of hostages remain concerned ahead of Netanyahu’s address to Congress
CNN
US and Israeli officials are voicing increased optimism about the prospects of a ceasefire and hostage deal being agreed to end the war in Gaza as the loved ones of hostages being held by Hamas say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must take the deal on offer.
US and Israeli officials are voicing increased optimism about the prospects of a ceasefire and hostage deal being agreed to end the war in Gaza as the loved ones of hostages being held by Hamas say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must take the deal on offer. Efforts to secure an agreement have been ongoing for months and picked up renewed momentum in late May after US President Joe Biden laid out the details of a plan to bring home the hostages and eventually bring about an end to the war. Now, as the Israeli Prime Minister prepares to deliver a high-stakes speech to Congress on Wednesday and meet with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, US officials claim a final deal is within reach. For the families of the hostages held more than nine months in Gaza, there is no time to wait. On Monday, Biden said he believed the different parties were on the “verge of being able to” secure a deal to bring home the hostages and end the war. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that they are “inside the 10-yard line and driving toward the goal line in getting an agreement that would produce a ceasefire, get the hostages home, and put us on a better track to trying to build lasting peace and stability.” US officials insist that Israel and Hamas have both agreed to the broad framework of a deal, but specifics and crucial technicalities need to be hammered out. Mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have been leading efforts to finalize those details. A source familiar with the negotiations told CNN Tuesday that an Israeli delegation that was expected to leave on Thursday to transmit the latest Israeli response to the mediators is likely to delay its trip until at least Friday as a result of Netanyahu’s meeting with Biden being postponed until Thursday afternoon. The Israeli prime minister wants to meet with Biden before the Israeli delegation formally transmits its response to the mediators, the source said.
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