(Dan Tri) – The US government and European countries are pressuring Israel to delay a ground attack on Gaza to buy time for secret negotiations to rescue hostages, Bloomberg cited knowledgeable sources.
US President Joe Biden was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited Israel in Tel Aviv on October 18 (Photo: Reuters).
The negotiation process with Hamas – considered a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union – carried out through Qatar is very sensitive and could fail, sources familiar with the matter said.
But according to these people, there are some signs that Hamas may agree to release at least some of the civilians kidnapped in the October 7 raid without demanding corresponding action from Israel.
Late on October 20, two American women were released.
After initially objecting to delaying the large-scale military operation into Gaza, Israel agreed under US pressure, sources familiar with the matter said.
In recent public statements, Israel has changed the tone of its battle plan, suggesting it may take a more restrained approach to reducing civilian casualties.
Hamas has taken more than 200 people hostage and detained them in Gaza, which is suffering from air strikes and a comprehensive siege by Israel, threatening to cause a humanitarian crisis.
The Israeli army said on October 20 that more than 20 hostages were teenagers and young children, while 10-20 of them were over 60 years old.
People attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack at Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City, October 20 (Photo: Reuters).
On October 16, Hamas’s armed branch said hostages who are not Israeli citizens will be released `when practical circumstances allow`.
Late on October 20, Hamas said it had released a woman and her daughter who are US citizens `in response to Qatar’s efforts`.
`We have worked around the clock to free American citizens held hostage by Hamas, and we are constantly working to ensure the release of those still detained,` said US President Joe Biden.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called it a `breakthrough` and said it would `continue dialogue with both Israel and Hamas, and we hope these efforts will lead to the release of all civilian hostages belonging to
The US and its allies have sent many leaders and top officials to Tel Aviv since the attack to show support for Israel.
However, in some closed discussions, Washington also warned Israel not to occupy Gaza for a long time.
`It’s not ‘Don’t do it,’ it’s ‘Think about what’s coming and come up with a strategy, don’t just worry about operations,’` the official said.
Portraits of people killed, missing or kidnapped in the October 7 attack by Hamas.
However, US officials are still concerned that a major attack could increase tensions in the region and create an opportunity for other forces to join the fight, thereby forcing the US to intervene.
Netanyahu’s government has said it will try to free the hostages but is also determined to eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, which it has controlled for nearly 20 years.
Another senior US official told CNN that one of the benefits of Mr. Biden’s visit to Israel this week is that it `helped us buy time` because Israel will not escalate tensions in the Gaza Strip during
The official said that the Israeli side delayed the operation as long as possible, because it allowed Israel to plan more strategically and not react emotionally to the horrors of October 7.
Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence analyst covering the Middle East, told CNN that `the good news is that Israel took advantage of its time. They didn’t immediately launch a ground operation the next day.`
`I think President Biden deserves credit for helping buy time,` Mr. Panikoff said.
