White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said on Thursday that the toppling of the Assad regime in Syria should send a signal to Hamas that it needs to move forward with a hostage release deal.
In a briefing with reporters, Kirby was asked about National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s comments during his visit to Israel on Thursday, that a ceasefire deal may be near.
Responding to the question of how are the circumstances different now compared to previous rounds of talks, Kirby replied, “I think if you’re Hamas right now, which is still fairly a rudderless organization, and you look at the world today, you know, the options aren’t good. Your military capabilities have been all but decimated. Your main leader is gone. The leader of your buddy, Hezbollah, he’s gone — Nasrallah is gone. Hezbollah is now in a ceasefire arrangement, which is still holding, with Israel. And Iran is not coming to the rescue. There is no cavalry for Hamas right now.”
“So, this is the time, and I think that’s what Jake was alluding to. There has been an awful lot of pressure put on anybody who is supporting Hamas. And now, given where they are and how weakened they are, this is the moment to make this deal. And that’s why, I think, Jake believes that we’re getting close. I mean, this is a great opportunity right now to do it,” he added.
Kirby also noted the situation in Syria in a subsequent reply to a reporter.
“One thing I didn’t add was events in Syria, because now Assad is gone. And who was Assad’s main backer? Iran. Iran was not only unwilling but unable to come to Assad’s rescue. It’s just more proof — or should be more proof — to Hamas leaders that there is, as I said, no cavalry coming to the rescue,” he stated.
“So they’re at a moment of weakness and desperation. This is the time to make this deal and move forward on it. Now, whether they’ll do it or not, as Jake said, you know, we can’t be certain, but we believe there’s an opportunity here — a moment — and that’s why Jake’s in the region.”
Earlier on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hamas is moving closer to a deal with Israel.
For the first time, the report said, Hamas has indicated that it would agree to a deal in which Israeli troops would remain stationed in Gaza, including in the Philadelphi Corridor near the southern border.
It has also provided a list of the remaining hostages to the mediators, a step it has refused since the first ceasefire collapsed.
Kirby earlier this week stressed that Hamas remains the “main stumbling block” in the path towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
During previous rounds of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, the United States had been pushing an outline for a ceasefire and hostage release deal that President Joe Biden first laid out in May, but Hamas rejected that proposal and every other proposal that has been presented to it.
More recently, Hamas put out an official statement, saying that it is interested in a deal to end the war which began after it launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
However, in that statement, Hamas again insisted that any agreement must include an end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.