Israel – The Jerusalem Post, October 23, 2024
The United States is exploring a “new framework” for a deal to secure the freedom of the remaining 101 hostages, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday before departing Israel for Saudi Arabia.
He hinted at the possibility that the release of the captives would be part of a regional deal.
“We talked about the plan that we’ve had on the table and the work that we’re doing on that plan, looking at new frameworks of foreign relations as a possibility,” Blinken said.
His vague statement appeared to refer to the former three-phase plan the US unveiled in May to free the hostages and end the Gaza war. Work on that deal — mediated by Hamas and Qatar — came to a halt when Hamas executed six of the hostages, including US-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin at the end of August.
