Hostage deal efforts remain at standstill despite rescue operation

The US push for a three-stage hostage deal appeared to remain at a standstill on Saturday, even as Israel celebrated the IDF operation that rescued four captives held in Gaza since October 7.

“We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached, that is essential,” US President Joe Biden said during a joint press event in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron.

He spoke as eight days have passed since he unveiled the proposal that opens a pathway for the return of the remaining 120 hostages and an end to the war. Israel has accepted the deal, which the US has characterized as their proposal.

Hamas has made statements dismissing the deal, but their words have not been considered a final rejection.Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday after the hostage rescue operation: “Our people will not surrender and the resistance will continue to defend our rights in the face of this criminal enemy.”

“If the [Israeli] occupation believes that it can impose its choices on us by force, then it is delusional,” he said. Hamas has reported that some 210 Palestinians were killed in the operation.

Hamas’s armed al-Qassam Brigades said on Saturday that some Israeli hostages were killed in a hostage freeing operation at al-Nuseirat refugee camp.

Hostage situation updates

Israel, “by committing horrific massacres, was able to free some of its hostages, yet it killed some others during the operation,” al-Qassam Brigades’ spokesperson Abu Ubaida said in a statement on his Telegram channel.

Mohammad Al-Hindi, deputy chief of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group that is also holding some of the hostages, said that Israel’s military operation on Saturday would not affect the deal. He added that conditions for the deal remain the same, in comments he made to Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an emergency UN Security Council session on “the bloody massacre that was carried out by the Israeli forces” at the al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, official news agency WAFA reported on Saturday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to the region this week in an attempt to close the hostage release deal. His visit follows regional trips made last week by CIA Director William Burns and US special envoy Brett McGurk.

The trip will be Blinken’s eighth to the region since the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7, in which over 1,200 people were killed and 251 seized as hostages.

Blinken is expected to visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Qatar and meet with their senior leaders. Egypt and Qatar have been the chief mediators for a hostage deal.

“The Secretary will discuss how the ceasefire proposal would benefit both Israelis and Palestinians,” the State Department said in a statement. “He will underscore that it would alleviate suffering in Gaza, enable a massive surge in humanitarian assistance, and allow Palestinians to return to their neighborhoods.”

The ceasefire, the State Department said, would also unlock the possibility of achieving calm along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and set conditions for further integration between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

“The Secretary will also continue to reiterate the need to prevent the conflict from escalating further,” it said.

The latest proposal, which has the backing of the EU and the G7, attempts to create a bridge between Hamas and Israel. Hamas has insisted that Israel must agree to a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Gaza before it would accept any deal. Israel has agreed to a temporary halt to the fighting and has agreed to discuss the issue, but has insisted that Hamas must be eliminated and that it maintain the ability to ensure that it won’t remain in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that “Israel just carried out a remarkable rescue operation of four hostages held by Hamas.

“This operation required ingenuity and courage of the highest degree, and our soldiers performed in an unmatchable way.”

He stressed that Israel was “committed to getting the release of all the hostages, and we expect Hamas to release them all — but if they don’t, we’ll do whatever it takes to get them all back home.

“Hamas is committing war crimes every day, including the holding of these hostages. Our soldiers are performing in the most valiant and moral way to end this war with a victory against these killers and against these kidnappers, and we shall prevail,” he stated.

A number of countries, including France, lauded the military operation.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X: “An important sign of hope – especially for the many families in Israel who still fear for their loved ones. Four hostages are now free. Hamas must finally release all hostages. The war must end,” he stated.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had reached out to the families of two of the freed hostages in a message he posted on X.

“I just sent messages to the families of Noa Argamani and Shalomi Ziv, who I received last week, to express my relief that they and two other hostages are now free,” he wrote.

“I renew my appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to this war,” Guterres stated.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote: “We share the relief of their families and call for the release of all the remaining hostages.” He urged the implementation of Biden’s hostage deal, stating that the “three-stage plan is the way forward to rescue all the hostages and end the suffering.”

But he also condemned the Palestinian deaths in Gaza. “Reports from Gaza of another massacre of civilians are appalling. We condemn this in the strongest terms. The bloodbath must end immediately,” he wrote.

Reuters contributed to this report.