The Daily Populous Monday January 6th, 2025 night edition
Authored by jpost.com and submitted by barsik_

Hamas backtracked on agreeing to a hostage deal when public pressure on Israel increased, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, The New York Times reported Saturday.

An additional impediment to a deal was that Hamas wanted the conflict to spread to additional fronts, with Israel being attacked by Hezbollah and Iran, he said in an interview with the Times.

Achieving a hostage deal was the quickest way to end the war, he added.

The absence of world pressure on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 massacre has been “astounding,” Blinken said.

“Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender – I don’t know what the answer is to that,” he said

“Israel, on various occasions, has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership and fighters out of Gaza,” he added. “Where is the world?” IDF operates in northern Gaza, January 4, 2025 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Asked whether he thought Israel had abided by laws of war in Gaza, Blinken cited the humanitarian aid provided by Israel to Gaza.

“We’ve found periods of time where, no, we didn’t think they [Israel] were doing enough... There’s a big difference between intent and result, whether it’s under the law or under any one standard,” he said.

“The results that we were seeing were grossly insufficient, that is, the result of getting people the assistance they need. I think that making sure that people are protected has been insufficient. There’s a very different question about what was the intent.”

Asked why the US administration continued to transfer weapons to Israel, Blinken reiterated the United States’ commitment to its defense. Stay updated with the latest news! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter Subscribe Now

Asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had listened to the Biden administration, especially regarding the May operation in Rafah in southern Gaza, he said: “What Israel wound up doing in Rafah was very different from what they were planning to do before we engaged with them.”

Blinken refuted reports that Netanyahu had barred a hostage deal from being achieved in July.

“What we’ve seen time and again is Hamas not concluding a deal that it should have concluded,” he said. “There have been times when actions that Israel has taken have, yes, made it more difficult. But there’s been a rationale for those actions, even if they’ve sometimes made getting to a conclusion more difficult.”

gulfpapa99 on January 5th, 2025 at 14:11 UTC »

After 7 December 1941, America demanded unconditional surrender of Japan, after 7 October 2023 why should Israel expect anything less of Hamas.

Haunting_Birthday135 on January 5th, 2025 at 13:56 UTC »

I have written this many times in different ways, and I will do so again: Hamas is still using hard negotiation strategies while ignoring the plight of the people in Gaza, despite having no real chance of a military victory. It goes without saying that they also disregard the suffering of the hostages.

It is a cruel group that seeks to maintain its power while continuing to exploit international financial and physical aid during wartime, as well as collecting taxes from locals in peacetime.

nondescriptun on January 5th, 2025 at 13:54 UTC »

Even Blinken is saying it: "The absence of world pressure on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages held in the Gaza Strip since October 7 is "astounding."

"Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender — I don’t know what the answer is to that," Blinken noted, adding, "Israel, on various occasions has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership and fighters out of Gaza. Where is the world?"