US urges Turkey to pressure Hamas as hostage release negotiations stall

Turkey, like any other country, should pressure Hamas to release the Gaza hostages, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters amid speculation that Ankara could become a mediator for a hostage deal.

“When it comes to using influence with Hamas to secure the release of hostages, we would welcome any country playing that kind of positive role,” Miller said.

“Certainly Turkey is a country that has added influence with Hamas,” he added, but stressed that he did not want to speculate on whether Turkey would become such a mediator.

“The important thing is that countries step up and use [their] influence and actually work to try to get these hostages out,” Miller said.

He spoke up after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil.

Hostages square Tel Aviv (credit: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

According to the State Department, the two men discussed the “ongoing humanitarian efforts in Gaza and the need to bring the war to an end and secure the release of all hostages.” Turkey has also recently met with top Hamas officials, a move that led some to wonder if the group was relocating to that country from Qatar.

Turkey has also recently met with top Hamas officials, a move that led some to wonder if the group was relocating to that country from Qatar.

A Turkish diplomatic source dismissed on Monday reports that Hamas had moved its political office to Turkey, adding that members of the Palestinian terrorist group only visited the country from time to time.

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Miller said Washington will make clear to Turkey’s government that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas. Some Hamas leaders are under US indictment and Washington believes they should be turned over to the United States, he said.

The US had asked Qatar to close the Hamas offices in that country in a move to pressure the group to show flexibility in negotiations to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday, “The leaders of Hamas that are within the negotiating team are now not in Doha. As you know, they move between the different capitals.”

He clarified, however, that Hamas’s political office in Doha has not been permanently closed.

Ansari said the Hamas office had been created to facilitate mediation efforts to end the Gaza war.

“Obviously, when there is no mediation process, the office itself doesn’t have any function other than being part of the process,” he said.

Ansari said any decision to close down the office permanently is a decision “that you will hear about from us directly, and shouldn’t be part of media speculation.”

Qatar and Egypt have been the two main mediators for the deal, along with the United States. Earlier this month, Qatar suspended its participation in the negotiations until such time Israel and Hamas could prove they were serious about making a deal.

The US has blamed Hamas for the absence of progress in the talks. Hamas has insisted that Israel must agree to end the war and withdraw from Gaza, while Israel has sought a phased deal that would trade a pause in the war for the release of captives.

Israel has explored the possibility of individual deals with the captors.

During a visit to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF would settle accounts with all those who harm the hostages in Gaza and reward those who hand them over to Israel.

“We are also making an effort from here and everywhere to locate our hostages and bring them back,” Netanyahu said.

“We are not relenting here. We will continue to do so until we bring them all back, both the living and the deceased,” Netanyahu stated.

He issued a stark warning to the Palestinian captors in Gaza: “Whoever dares to harm our hostages – their blood is on your head. We will pursue you and we will find you.”

Netanyahu also attempted to sway the captors to give up the hostages by providing a cash reward.

“To those who want to leave this entanglement, I say: Whoever brings us a hostage, will find a safe way out for himself and his family,” Netanyahu stated.

“We will also give a reward of $5 million for each hostage,” he said.

“The choice is yours,” Netanyahu said, “but the result will be the same. We will bring them all back,” he added.

Netanyahu spoke as he stood in the Gaza Nitzarim Corridor with Defense Minister Israel Katz. It was the kind of joint photo opportunity that had rarely happened with Katz’s predecessor, Yoav Gallant, and signaled the tight partnership between the two men.

The visit came as Israel is under pressure to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, end the war, and provide a plan for the day after the war ends.

Netanyahu has stressed that Israel’s military campaign will continue until Hamas is destroyed.

“Hamas will not rule in Gaza. We are eliminating its military capabilities in a very impressive fashion. We are moving on to its governing abilities, and we are not yet done. Hamas will not be in Gaza,” he stated.

Katz echoed Netanyahu, telling the soldiers in Gaza that “their most important mission” was to rescue the hostages and to bring them home. “We also have to ensure that Hamas won’t rule here the day after the war ends.”

Reuters contributed to this report.