USA Delayed a Hostage Deal

On Saturday, The New York Times published a wide-ranging interview with the outgoing Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in which he explained some of the Biden administration’s most controversial decisions, including those related to Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

In the latter part of the interview, he expressed the US government’s belief that the quickest way to have an enduring end to that war is through an agreement on a ceasefire that brings the hostages home. And then he described the two biggest impediments to reaching such an agreement, saying:

“One has been whenever there has been public daylight between the United States and Israel,
and the perception that pressure was growing on Israel, we`ve seen it:
Hamas has pulled back from agreeing to a ceasefire and the release of hostages.”

But the interviewer pressed him on that, pointing out that the US administration showed its frustration and opposition to Israel’s actions very publicly, e.g. regarding the assault on Rafah. Thus, she highlighted the US government’s responsibility for reducing the chances of a deal.

Having defended their opposition to an assault on Rafah, Blinken went on to describe the second impediment to a hostage release deal in these words:

“The other thing that got Hamas to pull back was their belief, their hope, that there’d be a wider conflict,
that Hezbollah would attack Israel, that Iran would attack Israel, that other actors would attack Israel,
and that Israel would have its hands full and Hamas could continue what it was doing.”

He also said that the absence of world pressure on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages has been astounding:

“You hear virtually nothing from anyone since October 7th about Hamas.
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.”

Many people who share concern for Israel as it faces so many enemies who seek its destruction would agree with that astonishment. The apparent acceptance of Hamas’ widespread terrorist activity by international governments is almost inexplicable.

Here is the full interview in a New York Times podcast on YouTube: