White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday morning that he is “confident” that a cease-fire and hostage exchange deal can still be “implemented” Sunday as families of two Americans slated for immediate release await answers.
“There’s a deal,” Kirby told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “We’re confident that we’re going to be able to start implementing it on Sunday. There are some implementing details that still need to be ironed out. We’re working with the Israelis on that very, very hard right now.
“But we’re confident that we’re going to get there,” he added.
From left, American hostages being held in Gaza: Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Keith Siegel, Omer Neutra, Judi Weinstein Haggai, Gadi Haggai and Itay Chen. (Fox News)
ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE DEAL HANGS IN BALANCE AS KEY VOTE IS DELAYED
Confusion over whether a deal had been successfully reached – as both the U.S. and Qatar had confirmed on Wednesday – erupted after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday claimed Hamas was “creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement.”
“Hamas is backing out of the explicit understandings agreed upon with the mediators and Israel in a last-minute blackmail attempt,” he claimed, according to a statement shared by Israeli news agency TPS-IL.
Hamas has reportedly rebuffed the Israeli government’s accusations.
Netanyahu deferred a cabinet hearing that was supposed to be set for Thursday morning to vote on the deal until “the mediators announce that Hamas has approved all the details of the agreement.”
But Kirby appeared determined to make clear that the deal had not collapsed and told MSNBC, “It’s not breaking down.”
Also telling NBC “We’re aware of these issues that the prime minister has raised… We’re confident that we’ll be able to solve these last-minute issues and get it moving.”
Pictures of loved ones who have been captured by Hamas on display during a Defend Israeli Democracy U.K. press conference at Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London, Oct. 12, 2023. (Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images)
ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU DELAYS GAZA CEASE-FIRE VOTE, ACCUSING HAMAS OF TRYING TO BACK OUT OF DEAL
Some 33 hostages have been slated to be released in the first phase of the agreement that will prioritize the release any potential children, women, the elderly and the sick or wounded. The initial phase will last a 42-day period with hostages being incrementally released, including three captives that will be freed on the first day that the deal is implemented.
Some reports have suggested that three Israeli female soldiers may be released on the first day of the agreement.
Though a senior administration official on Wednesday told Fox News, as well as other reporters, that two of the three living Americans in Gaza are slated to be released on the first day.
“We will see – and I don’t want to say until we actually see them – but Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen will come out in the first day and Edan will come out of Gaza, no doubt about it,” the official said.
Edan Alexander is a 21-year-old American Israeli who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the day of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, though soldiers are not slated to be released until the second phase, which will begin on the 43rd day of the cease-fire.
Israeli hostage families carry the photos of their loved ones who are held hostage by Hamas in Gaza as they march to Jerusalem. (Matan Golan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Specifics of the release of the remaining hostages, both dead and alive, will begin to be negotiated on the 16th day of the first phase.
At least 98 hostages continue to be held in Gaza, 94 of whom were taken on Oct. 7, 2023. While 62 of them are believed to be alive, 36 are assessed to be deceased.
“We are committed to getting all Americans. These are American-Israeli citizens, all of them out of Gaza,” the official said. “Whether living or remains. That is our commitment.”
