'No deal is imminent': US officials cast doubt on possibility of negotiation success

Officials in the US admitted in private conversations that they do not expect the signing of an agreement between Hamas and Israel regarding the hostage deal before the end of Biden's term, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

"No deal is imminent,” one of the US officials told WSJ. “I’m not sure it ever gets done."

This comes despite previous claims by the White House that the deal is “90 percent” agreed upon, except for the sticking points of the prisoner exchange and the Philadelphi corridor.

Officials stated that the reasons for the pessimism are the number of security prisoners that Israel will have to release and the Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie attack that has complicated diplomacy with Hamas.

The ratio of prisoners to hostages was a bone of contention, even before the killing of the six hostages in Rafah earlier this month, one of whom was an American citizen.

“There’s no chance now of it happening,” an unnamed Arab official told WSJ. “Everyone is in a wait-and-see mode until after the election. The outcome will determine what can happen in the next administration.”

Hamas's intransigence 

Also, sources in the Biden administration pointed out that Hamas makes demands and then refuses to agree to a deal after the US and Israel have accepted them.

This "intransigence" allegedly frustrates the negotiations, who feel Hamas are not serious about negotiating. Critics from the Israeli side have also claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sabotaging the process.

In a meeting with US National security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday, families of the seven remaining US hostages in Gaza said they felt “frustration with the lack of tangible progress."

John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said on Wednesday that “we aren’t any closer to that now than we were even a week ago.”  

However, according to the administration, they will not cease efforts to reach an agreement, deeming it the sole way to end the conflict in Gaza and prevent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.