Negotiations are continuing for the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday.
“We’re not considering diplomacy dead,” Kirby told Margaret Brennan on CBS.
During Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the deadliest assault against Jewish people since the Holocaust, about 1,200 people were killed and over 200 were forcibly taken into Gaza. Around 100 were released in November but deals to free the remaining hostages have stalled.
Hamas recently rejected a proposal for the release of these hostages, according to the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency.
Still, Kirby said there is “a new deal on the table” negotiated by CIA Director William Burns.
“It is a good deal. It would get dozens of the most at risk – women, elderly, the wounded – out, get us a six-week cease-fire, so a little bit more calm, and get us an opportunity to get more humanitarian assistance in,” Kirby said. “The Hamas leaders need to take that deal.”
Read more here from USA Today.
