White House says negotiators reach framework for new Gaza hostage deal

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Negotiators seeking to broker a deal for the release of additional hostages held by Palestinian group Hamas have developed a "framework" that could lead to an eventual deal, the White House said Monday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby described the ongoing talks as "constructive," but maintained that while progress has been made there is not a "deal that's on the table and imminently ready to be announced."

"We think there's a framework here for another hostage deal that could really make a difference in terms of getting more hostages out, getting more aid in, and actually getting the violence to come down, and that would reduce, of course, civilian casualties," he said during an interview with the MSNBC television network.

"A lot of promise here, but again, I want to be very, very clear there's still diplomacy ahead of us, still a lot of discussions to occur before we can get there," he added.

The Washington Post newspaper reported Thursday that US President Joe Biden is sending CIA Director William Burns abroad on a mission to help broker the major deal.

Burns is being sent to Europe to partake in talks with a trio of regional officials, including his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts David Barnea and Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, it said.

The White House declined to comment on Burns' travel when pressed by reporters, but said he has been "involved in helping us with the hospital that was in place and trying to help us pursue another one."

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported Sunday that progress has been made on the negotiations following the conclusion of the summit Sunday in the French capital Paris.

Egypt and Qatar have been the main interlocutors between Israel and Hamas amid the ongoing war in Gaza and have helped to broker past temporary halts to the fighting, which has killed at least 26,420 people in the coastal territory, the vast majority of whom have been women and children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office later issued a statement in which he acknowledged that Burns was in attendance, but maintained that “there are still significant gaps which the sides will continue to discuss at additional mutual meetings to be held this week.”

Israel has carried out a sweeping bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 in which nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

It has also sought to severely restrict the flow of international assistance to the coastal enclave, which has been under a 17-year Israeli blockade.

The deal being negotiated would entail the release of all remaining hostages in exchange for what the Post called "the longest cessation of hostilities since the war began last year."

It is unclear how long that might be, but Israel most recently proposed a 60-day lull in its war in exchange for the release of all hostages, according to multiple reports.