Israel-Hamas war live updates: Pressure grows in Israel for another deal to release remaining hostages
NBCDec 31, 2023
CIA Director Meets Mossad Chief and Qatari PM To Discuss New Hostage Deal
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Image copyright: Amir Levy / Freelance photographer [via Getty Images]
The Facts
CIA Director William Burns traveled to Poland on Monday to meet with the director of Israel's Mossad intelligence service David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in an attempt to formulate a new hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. Barnea and Al Thani already met on Friday to discuss the possibility of a new deal. The talks come as the Israeli war cabinet comes under increased pressure to release the hostages after the Israeli military admitted on Friday to killing three hostages reportedly holding up a white flag.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel on Monday to discuss Israel's eventual end to the current phase of the war in Gaza and its transition to a more limited, focused conflict. Austin met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and is expected to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Austin, who has become increasingly vocal in his criticisms of Israel's war strategy, has warned that Israel's current bombardment of the strip and high civilian casualties risks radicalizing Gaza's population.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Though, of course, Israel has a right to dismantle Hamas' military capabilities, it must wage this war in a humane way. The number of civilians being killed will only galvanize Palestinians against peace and push them into the arms of Hamas. A more thorough and surgical campaign is now needed to eliminate Hamas' leadership in Gaza, as Israel is losing global support.
Pro-Israel narrative
Though this has been a tragic war, Israel cannot allow Hamas to survive. Though it seems that the Biden admin. wants to pressure Israel into a ceasefire, Israel must push back against such short-sighted thinking. Israel is a sovereign country and has the right to defend itself from terrorism and pursue its own interests. Hamas' military capabilities must be eliminated so that the group can never launch a terrorist attack like Oct. 7 again.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Israel continues to demonstrate that its war is not against Hamas but against the Palestinian people as a whole. Nowhere in Gaza is safe, and Israel has effectively rendered the north of the strip unlivable. Israel is killing Palestinians at an unprecedented rate and clearly wants to make the Gaza Strip unlivable. Though the US, Israel's biggest ally, wants to minimize the war's intensity, it must instead exert more pressure to end the war completely.
