US’s Sullivan says obstacles to ceasefire deal involve names of prisoners, captives released
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that while Washington is “wary about making predictions or promises” about the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza, the current negotiations are “close”.
“With enough pushing from the outside mediators and a commitment from Israel and Hamas, we can get it done,” Sullivan told ABC News.
“Netanyahu made clear at this moment that Israel is ready to do this deal. So the final piece of the puzzle, from my perspective, is for Hamas, ultimately, to come forward with a commitment on the release of hostages in that first phase in the multi-phase deal,” he said.
Sullivan explained that if they can get that done, “we can have a ceasefire, we can get hostages home, and we can get a surge of humanitarian assistance in Gaza”.
He added that the current obstacles to the deal were the names of captives and prisoners who would be released in the first phase.
Ceasefire mediators urging Israel to release high-profile Palestinians: Report
Israeli news outlet Haaretz, citing Palestinian sources close to the matter, is reporting that Gaza ceasefire mediators are urging Israel to agree to the release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners in the agreement’s next stages.
Israeli envoy says ceasefire deal could be ‘similar’ to last year
Israel’s envoy to the UN Danny Danon told reporters that Israel wants all the captives released at the same time, but he’s not sure it’ll all happen in one stage.
“We hope it will be in one stage, because we want to see all the hostages back home,” Danon said.
“Maybe it will not be in one stage, and basically it will be similar to what we saw in the past, more than a year ago, that you have a ceasefire, a long one … During that ceasefire, hostages will be released, and we’re talking maybe on the humanitarian aspect of women, and they seek in the older hostages,” he added.
A long one... ruling out a permanent ceasefire from the get go...
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