WASHINGTON — In an interview with Spectrum News on Monday morning, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he is confident a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas will get done “one way or the other at some point soon” and could still be finalized in the days before President Joe Biden leaves office.
It comes as Arab mediators told The Associated Press that significant progress was made overnight in talks toward such a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the more than 15-month-old war.
“I hope we actually will have a deal by the time President Biden leaves office, and sitting here today, Monday, the week before we leave, I think there's a distinct possibility we can get this done,” Sullivan said.
He went on to note that Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday, a conversation he called “a meeting of the minds” about how to get such a potential deal across the finish line.
“Now we have to see if Hamas will come along,” Sullivan said.
With President-elect Donald Trump — who has pledged that there will be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if the hostages aren’t released before his inauguration — set to return to the White House in exactly one week, Sullivan said Biden’s team has been working “very closely” with the incoming administration on the issue and stressed that there is “no daylight” between the outgoing and incoming administrations on the issue.
“One thing that has been a hallmark of this transition, which President Biden gave us direction to do, is that we have worked very closely with the incoming team across the board,” he said. “Because a successful transition is not a Republican or Democratic issue, it's an American issue.”
Sullivan noted that both Biden’s top Middle East official, Brett McGurk, and Trump’s incoming envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, are currently in Doha, Qatar, taking part in negotiations over a potential deal. Witkoff also met with Netanyahu over the weekend.
“Because the message we're trying to send to both Israel and Hamas is there is no daylight between President Biden and President Trump when it comes to the issue of getting this deal,” Sullivan said. “That matters.”
Asked if he is confident that Trump’s team could close the deal if an agreement is not locked up in the next six days, Sullivan said a pact would be shored up “one way or the other” soon.
“If it is not in place by next Monday, we're talking about very modest additional things that have to happen to get it across the finish line,” Sullivan said. “I'm confident this is going to happen one way or the other at some point soon. I think it can get done in the next few days.”
The Biden administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, have been working for months to cement a multi-phase proposal laid out by the president in May that would secure the release of those still being held hostage and ultimately move to end the war. Despite U.S. officials saying such an agreement was close to finalized a number of times over the last months, talks have petered out at points and a final deal has remained elusive, something Sullivan acknowledged while also making clear it would be disappointing to not see it get done before the handoff.
“Would I be shocked if it didn't happen given what's happened in the last 14 months? I wouldn't be shocked,” he said. “And of course, I don't want to leave office without this being done. But we are determined to use every ounce of our energy to make it happen this week, and I believe that that is still very much a live possibility.”
The AP reported that negotiators in the region have given both sides a draft proposal, with mediators noting the coming hours and days will be crucial.