US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence Monday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza would come together, but possibly after President Joe Biden leaves office on January 20.
Blinken, who tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully last year to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, said that the Biden administration "will work every minute of every day" until the end of its term to secure a hostage deal.
"We very much want to bring this over the finish line in the next two weeks," Blinken told reporters on a visit to Seoul.
"If we don't get it across the finish line in the next two weeks, I'm confident that it will get its completion at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later," Blinken said.
"When it does, it will be on the basis of the plan that President Biden put forward and that virtually the entire world supports."
According to the BBC and reported by Israeli media on Monday, a high-ranking Hamas official has disclosed a roster of 34 captives that the Palestinian group is prepared to release in the initial phase of a potential truce arrangement with Israel. The list includes ten women, eleven elderly male captives ranging from 50 to 85 years old, and children previously claimed by Hamas to have perished in an Israeli airstrike.
Israel's prime minister's office refuted claims that Hamas had furnished Israel with a list of captives; however, according to the Times of Israel this list was sent by Hamas in the past.
Meanwhile, Israel said Monday that Hamas had not yet provided the status of the 34 hostages the group declared it was ready to release in the first phase of a potential exchange deal.
"As yet, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment by Hamas regarding the status of the hostages appearing on the list," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement after a Hamas official gave a list of captives the group was willing to free.
"The list of hostages... was not provided to Israel by Hamas but was originally given by Israel to the mediators in July 2024."
Late on Sunday, a senior Hamas official had told AFP the group had agreed to release 34 hostages.
"Hamas has agreed to release 34 Israeli prisoners from a list presented by Israel as part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal," the official said.
With AFP
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