Jake Sullivan says Netanyahu is ‘ready to make a deal’ as Hamas has said it will allow Israel a ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “ready to make a deal” for the release of hostages still being held in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Thursday.

“I got the sense from the prime minister that he is ready to make a deal,” Sullivan told reporters during a press conference in Tel Aviv, according to multiple reports. “The prime minister has indicated that he wants to do that.”

Biden’s national security adviser, who met with the Israeli prime minister on Thursday, was pressed on whether Netanyahu had suspended ceasefire talks with Hamas in an effort to wait out the incoming Trump administration, to which Sullivan said, “No, I don’t. You get that idea.”

“We want to close this deal this month. I wouldn’t be here today if I thought this would wait until after January 20,” he said.

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Sullivan’s comments came just two days after he met with family members of American hostages held by Hamas for more than 430 days following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

I am hopeful that a hostage deal could be near after more than a year since the last release of hostages was agreed on in November 2023, and resurfaced late last month after Jerusalem and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire under the 13-point agreement.

A report this week by the Wall Street Journal also suggested that Hamas had conceded to two key Israeli demands and reportedly told negotiators that the terrorists would allow Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops to remain in Gaza during the ceasefire.

The group also agreed to withdraw its demands for a permanent end to the Israeli campaign and provided a list of hostages, including American ones, to be exchanged under a “ceasefire agreement.”

It is not clear how many hostages Hamas will hand over any of the seven Americans still in Gaza – three of whom are believed to be still alive – who were on the list.

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The families of the hostages, both in the US and in Israel, have been asking Netanyahu for months to seek a peace deal and guarantee the release of the hostages. The request is especially urgent after the collapse of a cease-fire agreement in late summer, and ultimately failed to secure the release of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who, along with two other Israelis on the list for release, were killed along with three other Hamas hostages. in August.

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday issued a comprehensive demand that Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire agreement and that all hostages be released.

The resolution, adopted by 158 votes in favor of the 193-member organization, called for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, respected by all parties, and reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

Although the decisions of the UN General Assembly are not binding, they are important as they express the international position on the problem.

Protesters and relatives of hostages taken by Hamas protest on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Nine countries voted against the resolution, including the US and Israel, while another 13 nations did not vote.

In his speech at a meeting following the vote, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said, “The draft resolution on the ceasefire in Gaza risks sending a dangerous message to Hamas that there is no need to negotiate or release the hostages.”

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“As the Gaza resolution before us today does nothing to advance a practical solution, the United States will continue to pursue a solution that brings peace, security and freedom to the Palestinian people in Gaza,” he added, saying now is the time to put more pressure on Hamas.

On Thursday it was reported that Sullivan said that the status of Hamas at the negotiating table has changed since it was agreed to suspend the agreement in Lebanon last month, which clearly shows that the terrorist group will no longer be able to rely on Hezbollah’s help.

The White House’s national security adviser is expected to leave Israel this week for Qatar and Egypt, where he will meet with senior officials to end violence and release hostages.