The U.S. is currently in talks with Israel and Qatar about a three-day fighting pause, a proposal that might allow for the delivery of more humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and possibly get Hamas to release some of the 240 hostages.
The discussions are ongoing, but no deal has been reached, two foreign diplomats and a U.S. official told NBC News this week. One of the sources familiar with the matter said a temporary pause of one to three days could help negotiate the release of ten to 15 hostages, which could be the first step in releasing dozens more.
According to the Times of Israel, six Americans are reportedly included in the first batch of ten to 15 hostages that might be released if a three-day cease-fire is reached.
The Biden administration has been floating a possible pause in the Israel-Hamas war for weeks. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far disregarded the idea, stipulating that Hamas would first have to release all of the hostages. Last week, Netanyahu said he refused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s suggestion of a temporary cease-fire, instead calling for the Israeli military to bombard Gaza with “all of its power.”
On Monday, Netanyahu said Israel would consider “tactical little pauses” in its military campaign to help facilitate the entry of supplies — including food, water, fuel, and medical supplies — to Gaza and the release of some hostages. However, he remains hesitant to commit to a wider cease-fire in the region.
Hamas militants accepted the terms of a humanitarian pause until that proposal fell through last week, when Israel rejected it.
Former Israel prime minister Naftali Bennett shares Netanyahu’s assessment of the situation. During an MSNBC interview this week, Bennett said a three-day fighting pause would be a “very bad idea.” When asked to clarify, he said that Hamas will “play around with us, and maneuver us, and give us a few hostages, but then it will prolong the whole suffering of everyone” until the conflict ends.
The Israel Defense Forces is moving forward with its ground operations and military airstrikes in Gaza a month after Hamas first invaded Israel in an attack that left 1,400 people dead. According to figures reported by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, more than 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since Israel declared war in retaliation against Hamas. In compiling data about the dead, the Gaza Health Ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and terrorists.