Netanyahu reiterates ‘red lines’ for hostage deal with Hamas

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that ‘the signs are more positive today than they have been in recent weeks.’

By JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated Jerusalem’s “red lines” for the hostage-for-ceasefire deal being negotiated with the Hamas terror group.

Netanyahu outlined four principles that he would “strongly uphold” during ongoing talks, as they are “essential for the security of Israel.”

1. Any [deal] must allow Israel to return to fighting until all the objectives of the war are achieved.

2. We will not allow the smuggling of weapons to Hamas from Egypt, first and foremost through Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing.

3. We will not allow the return of armed terrorists and the entry of war materiel to the northern Gaza Strip. Only this way will the achievements that we have made by an unyielding fight and with the precious blood of our soldiers be preserved.

4. I insist that the maximum number of living hostages be released in the first stage of the outline.

“These are our ironclad principles,” said Netanyahu. “I am certain that if we insist on them we will achieve a deal that will both free our hostages and ensure that we will continue to fight until all of our objectives have been achieved.”

The prime minister has presented these “tough” demands because he is “trying to use Hamas’ weakness to get as much as he can out of the negotiations,” an Israeli official involved in the talks told Axios on Thursday.

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that “the signs are more positive today than they have been in recent weeks,” and that the gaps between the parties “can be resolved and should be resolved.

“We see progress. We see the possibility of reaching an agreement. I can’t guarantee that because there’s a lot of details to be hammered through,” added Sullivan.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Hamas has agreed to a framework proposal, and mediators are negotiating the details and implementation.

The report said that while the contours are in place, a final agreement is unlikely to be imminent as the details of the deal are complex and will take time to work through.

As part of the truce, the parties have indicated their approval of an interim governance plan in which neither Israel nor Hamas would rule Gaza.

Instead, security would be provided by a U.S.-trained force backed by moderate Arab nations, drawn from a group of 2,500 vetted Palestinian Authority supporters who are already in Gaza.

On Thursday, Netanyahu noted that Israel has “a moral obligation to bring them [captives] back to Israel—the living and the deceased. This is a sacred mission,” he said.

“As of now, we have returned 135 hostages—thanks to a combination of military pressure and diplomatic pressure, and standing steadfast on our principles. Without the military pressure, we would not have the necessary intelligence for the operations we have carried out. Without the military pressure and standing steadfast on our demands, we could not have reached the first release [in November]—and only with this pressure and this stand will we reach the second release,” added the premier.

“I would like to emphasize that I am committed to the outline for the release of our hostages; however, the Hamas murderers are still continuing to cling to demands that contravene the outline and endanger the security of Israel,” said Netanyahu.

During a Wednesday meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu told U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk that the Jewish state remains committed to a deal as long as it adheres to his red lines.

Netanyahu’s tête-à-tête with the Biden administration official came as an Israeli delegation led by Mossad Director David Barnea touched down in Doha to continue negotiations.

CIA Director William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani were also said to have participated in the discussions in Qatar.

The mediators are working to revive the ceasefire outline President Joe Biden presented on May 31, which calls in its first stage for a “full and complete” six-week truce during which dozens of hostages—women, the elderly and the sick—would be exchanged for hundreds of terrorists.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem and Hamas would negotiate the terms of the second phase, in which the remaining male hostages would be freed in return for Israel releasing additional Palestinian terrorists from jail.

In the third phase, the corpses of Israeli civilians and soldiers would be returned for burial, and the reconstruction of the Strip would start.

“The negotiating team returned last night from a four-way summit with the mediators in Doha. Discussed at the meeting were the clauses of the deal on returning the hostages and ways to implement the outline, while ensuring all the objectives of the war,” Netanyahu’s office announced on Thursday.

The premier met with the negotiators, the statement added.

The PMO said a delegation led by Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Ronen Bar, together with Israel Defense Forces representatives, was scheduled to leave for Cairo on Thursday night for further talks.

Of the 120 hostages remaining in the Strip, 116 were abducted during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre (the other four were captured earlier). The figure includes both living and deceased men, women and children.

The White House is “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects of Hamas greenlighting the deal with Israel, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview earlier on Wednesday.

“There are still gaps remaining between the two sides. We believe those gaps can be narrowed, and that’s what Brett McGurk and CIA Director Bill Burns are trying to do right now,” Kirby told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Benjamin Netanyahuceasefire dealHamas