US considers presenting Israel, Hamas final hostage swap proposal: Report

By Mohammad Sio

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US is weighing a final proposal for a hostage exchange and cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas after the Israeli army found the bodies of six hostages in Gaza, including a US citizen, according to sources cited by Axios on Monday.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan informed the families of US hostages held in Gaza that President Joe Biden is considering presenting this proposal later this week.

“President Biden is considering presenting Israel and Hamas a final proposal for a hostage-release and cease-fire in Gaza later this week,” Sullivan told the families during a Sunday meeting, according to two well-placed sources cited by Axios.

The discovery of the six hostages, including US national Hersh Goldberg-Polin, has increased pressure on Biden’s top aides to expedite an agreement and present Israel and Hamas with "a take-it-or-leave-it moment," the sources said.

The report revealed that Biden is set to meet with his national security team on Monday morning to determine the strategy for the final push regarding the deal.

Additionally, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to join Biden during a meeting with the US hostage deal negotiating team on Monday, according to the White House schedule.

Israel estimates that more than 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been killed.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire, as well as to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

However, mediation efforts have stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 40,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 94,100 others, according to local health authorities.

The blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.