Biden official argues hostages must be free before ‘significant’ pause in Israel-Hamas war
White House adviser Brett McGurk in a speech Saturday said the hostages taken by Hamas must be free before a “significant pause” can happen in the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group.
“It’s also reasonable to pause the fighting, release the hostages, the women, the children, the toddlers, the babies, all of them and the onus here is on Hamas this is the path,” McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, said in his speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Simply calling for cease-fire is not a path to peace.”
In his speech at the IISS Manama Dialogue 2023 event, the Biden adviser said releasing the hostages would create a “massive surge” in humanitarian relief.
He added that Hamas had pushed for a bargain earlier in the war where they would release hostages in exchange for fuel and humanitarian supplies for the Gaza Strip.
“Imagine if … someone took your family members and then told you to get them back, you had to give them X, Y and Z whatever it might be and you are being advice just give them X, Y and Z anyway without any promise that your family members would be released that would be problematic and that’s where we’ve been,” McGurk continued.
“The surge in humanitarian relief, the surge in fuel, the pause in fighting will come with hostages are released,” he said.
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Biden official argues hostages must be free before "significant" pause in Israel-Hamas war https://t.co/YEy1mnJMwZ
— The Hill (@thehill) November 18, 2023
Exactly.
And @WHO and @UNWRA among others agreed with them.
Shame on all of them. https://t.co/94dYfZSrjA
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) November 19, 2023
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