'Frustrating process': US offers new details on hostage release talks

Israel Prime Minister's reasons for maintaining presence along Gaza-Egypt border are 'fundamentally and totally untrue', US official says

Israelis have been taking to the streets demanding a ceasefire deal that will release hostages held in Gaza since October 7. AFP

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The US on Wednesday said the negotiating process for a ceasefire in Gaza has been “pretty frustrating”, as disagreements continue over the exchange of Palestinian detainees for hostages.

A senior US administration official said that under the deal, about 800 Palestinian detainees, including roughly 100 serving life sentences in Israeli jails, would be released in exchange for about 100 hostages Hamas is holding in Gaza.

“The Israelis have come forward to meet the terms as best they can and Hamas, frankly, on this issue – we've had a pretty frustrating process,” the official told journalists on a call.

Still, the official said that there is “90 per cent agreement” between the sides on the deal. For months, the US, alongside Qatar and Egypt, has been mediating an end to the war, sparked on October 7 when Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people.

More than 40,800 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing war, and more than 94,000 injured.

Another major sticking point in the talks is the Salah Al Din area, also known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed to keep Israeli forces in the border region between Gaza and Egypt, arguing it is the key supply route Hamas uses to smuggle weapons into Gaza – a charge both the militant group and Egypt deny.

“Bring me anyone who will actually show us … that they can actually prevent the recurrence” of smuggling, Mr Netanyahu said. “I don’t see that happening right now, and until that happens, we’re there.”

The US official said that although the agreement – a text composed of 18 paragraphs – does not stipulate the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Salah Al Din in the first part of the three-phased process, it would not be in Israel's security interest to remain there.

“I have seen some Israeli ministers say this deal somehow would sacrifice Israel's security. That is just fundamentally, totally untrue,” according to the official.

President Joe Biden's administration has said Israel must completely withdraw from Gaza when the war ends, and Egypt is deeply opposed to a long-term Israeli military presence along the enclave's border, saying it is a breach of a decades-old agreement.

On Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said a “bridging proposal” put forth by the US last month to span the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas in the ceasefire and hostage release deal also included the Israeli withdrawal from the corridor.

The deaths of six hostages at the weekend, the US official said on Wednesday, has affected negotiations.

“It's tragic and awful, it's affecting all of us,” the official said, adding that Hamas has included a provision for the exit from Gaza of wounded militants for treatment.

The agreement also includes the entry of 600 aid lorries per day, including 50 carrying fuel, as well as the clearing of rubble, the rehabilitation of hospitals, and rebuilding of critical infrastructure including electricity, water, sewage, communication and roads in all areas of Gaza.