While negotiations for the release of hostages trample, the United States and Israel promise to tighten their position against Hamas, and to “find other means than diplomacy to release hostages”. Faced with these pressures, the Saudi chain al-Hadath evokes a decline in the terrorist organization, which would have recently informed the mediators of its desire to resolve the main points of friction in talks. The same sources believe that international pressures could allow a resumption of discussions in the coming days.
Among the alternatives mentioned to bend Hamas is a reinforced pressure on the leaders of the organization abroad, including the American-Israeli joint extradition requests, even targeted eliminations. Israel also does not exclude threatening to seize certain portions of the territory in Gaza if no agreement is found within a specific time.
During a press briefing on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, each called for a change in strategy in the processing of the Gazaoui file. All three spoke by phone in the hours having followed the negative response of Hamas.
Israeli and American officials fear that the Islamist organization is putting on the wear and tear of the conflict and betting on an intensification of diplomatic pressures to obtain a cease-fire on its conditions. “Hamas does not seek an agreement in this cycle of negotiations, it plays the watch,” said a diplomatic source in Jerusalem.
Speaking in front of the hostage families gathered in Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that the situation required an urgent reassessment: “We must reconsider our position very seriously,” he said, according to two sources present in Reunion.
Donald Trump, for his part, suggested that the time had come for Israel to intensify his offensive in order to finish “once and for all” with Hamas. “It’s terrible what Hamas managed to do. He led everyone by the nose, “he told journalists in Scotland, where he is on the go.
