WH: framework exists for Gaza hostage deal, but it's not final

A framework exists for a deal to release the hostages held in Gaza, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told MSNBC News on Monday, but he cautioned that nothing had been finalized. 

“A lot of promise here, but again, I want to be very clear, there is still diplomacy ahead of us, a lot of discussions to occur before we can get there,” Kirby said.

He spoke as Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, whose country is mediating the deal along with Egypt, was in Washington for talks with US officials including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

Kirby cautions that nothing has been finalized

Thani arrived from Paris, where he participated in closed-door talks on a deal with CIA Chief William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and the head of the Egyptian Intelligence Services Abbas Kamel. The Prime Minister’s Office called the talks constructive and said that more conversation would be held but did not provide a timeline for those talks.

Kirby also used the word “constructive” to describe the process, noting that US special envoy Brett McGurk had been in Doha last week.

He clarified, however, that “we don’t have a deal on the table and imminently ready to be announced.”

The US does “think that there is a framework here for another hostage deal that could make a difference in terms of getting more hostages out, getting more aid in and actually getting the violence to calm down and that would reduce civilian casualties,” Kirby stated.

The broad framework under discussion has focused on an exchange of captives for the release of Palestinian security prisoners and or terrorists as well as a pause in the Israel-Hamas war.

It’s presumed that the deal to free the 136 captives would be done in stages, as occurred with the November deal during which time 105 captives were freed during a week-long lull in the fighting.

Hamas had seized some 253 captives during the October 7th attack it led against Israel that sparked the war.

Hamas said on Monday that releasing hostages it is holding would require a guaranteed end to the war and a full IDF withdrawal.

Any release of hostages would likely take place in stages

"The success of the Paris meeting is dependent on the Occupation (Israel) agreeing to end the comprehensive aggression on Gaza Strip," senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Hamas had previously said a full release would require that Israel free all of the thousands of Palestinians held on security grounds in its prisons.

A Palestinian official, close to mediation talks, who requested anonymity, said that for Hamas to sign a follow-up deal to the November truce in which it released dozens of hostages, it wants Israel to agree to end the offensive and withdraw from Gaza - through implementation would not necessarily be immediate.

The agreement would have to be endorsed by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the official said.

Israel has insisted that it has no plan to end the war until Hamas is defeated or to relinquish security control of Gaza. One compromise position, however, could be that it would temporarily withdraw from selected target areas in Gaza.