Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 15
CNN: The Biden White House is working increasingly closely with officials from the incoming administration as it races to try to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal to halt the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas before Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.
In the wake of the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, talks over a Gaza deal have resumed quickly but quietly, with US officials scarred by a year of faltering efforts that have gone nowhere.
Not only would the Biden White House like to finally reach a ceasefire in its final weeks in office, but Trump’s desire to start his second term with both the Lebanon and Gaza conflicts wrapped up and the hostages held by Hamas released has breathed new life into a framework that collapsed several months ago.
Five sources familiar with the conversations said there has been close coordination, with Trump’s team being kept apprised of the sensitive and painstaking work by Joe Biden’s administration.
The primary efforts are still being guided by Biden’s team and the two officials driving the ceasefire deal, CIA Director Bill Burns and the White House’s Brett McGurk. Their counterpart in the Trump camp is Steve Witkoff, Trump’s recently named Middle East envoy.
In a social media post last week, Trump proclaimed that he wanted the hostages to be released by the time he takes office, warning that otherwise: “There will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity.”
