Biden Official: Full Hostage Release Was Never Realistic Early On
Translated & summarized from Kipa by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Early return of all hostages was unrealistic, says Biden official.
- Hamas intended to hold hostages for years, US believed.
- Hamas's refusal to release young women derailed initial deal.
- Military pressure was key to advancing hostage negotiations.
- Sinwar's elimination shifted pressure on Hamas, official claims.
Brett McGurk, a senior official in the Biden administration involved in hostage release negotiations, has refuted several claims made in Israel regarding the talks with Hamas. Speaking on a podcast, McGurk stated that the idea of returning all hostages early in the conflict was not realistic, as Washington believed Hamas intended to hold some for years as bargaining chips. He also attributed the collapse of the initial deal to Hamas's decision to stop releasing young women and move to other categories, a move Israel rejected due to fears for the women's safety.
McGurk further asserted that even on the eve of the operation in Rafah, no deal was on the table that Hamas was willing to accept, despite significant Israeli concessions. He clarified that the Biden administration's pressure on Israel to avoid an operation in Rafah was not based on the assessment that Israel was blocking a deal, but rather a desire to reduce the intensity of fighting and de-escalate the situation in the area, which he argued also reduced pressure on Hamas to compromise.
Regarding Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, McGurk expressed that as long as Sinwar was alive, a comprehensive deal was difficult to envision. He suggested that the operation in Rafah and the ensuing military pressure were instrumental in Sinwar's eventual elimination and shifted the balance of pressure on Hamas. McGurk concluded that military pressure and negotiation are not contradictory, but rather that military force was a key lever enabling the advancement of deals.
