CNN’s Lee: Biden Nearly Gave up Sensitive Info. on Hostage Talks, Needed Blinken’s Help to Avoid Doing So

Published November 16, 2023

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” CNN Senior White House Correspondent MJ Lee reported that President Joe Biden almost started revealing too much sensitive information about negotiations over the hostages held by Hamas during his press conference that day, and had to look to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to see if he was giving away too many details.

READ FULL ARTICLE

SOURCE: www.breitbart.com

RELATED: Biden’s message to hostages in Gaza: ‘Hang in there, we’re coming’

U.S.President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the White House initiative on climate change, at the White House in Washington, November 14, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Brenner Acquire Licensing Rights

Published November 15, 2023

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he is engaged in daily discussions to secure the release of hostages held by the Hamas militant group and believes it will happen.

“Hang in there, we’re coming,” Biden said at the White House, when asked by reporters what his message to family members of hostages was.

Biden said he speaks daily with the parties involved in negotiations over a possible hostage release, but did not want to share the details.

Shortly after his remarks, the White House said Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East, Brett McGurk, is heading to the region for talks with officials in Israel, the West Bank, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other nations.

“In Israel, he will discuss Israel’s security needs, the imperative of protecting civilians in the course of military operations, as well as ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages, and the need to rein in violent extremist settlers in the West Bank,” it said in a statement.

READ FULL ARTICLE

SOURCE: www.Reuters.com

RELATED:Hamas agrees to tentative deal to free dozens of hostages, pending Israel’s approval

Hamas wants a multiday pause in fighting, increased humanitarian aid, and freedom for an unknown number of Palestinians in Israeli jails in exchange for the release of at least 50 women and children being held in Gaza

Published November 15, 2023

Hamas has agreed in principle and Israel is now considering a proposal for the release of at least 50 women and children among about 240 foreign and Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the negotiations.

In exchange for the hostages, Israel would agree to a three-to-five-day pause “in place” in the fighting, increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the release of an unspecified number of women and children held in Israeli prisons.

Amid reports that agreement on at least some components of a deal may be near, U.S. officials and other interested parties spent much of Wednesday awaiting word from Israel, where internal discussions were said to be underway. Biden, speaking Wednesday in a news conference after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said that he was “deeply involved” in negotiations over ahostage release with Israel and the government of Qatar, which is serving as a go-between for Hamas.

READ FULL ARTICLE

SOURCE: www.Washingtonpost.com