Vance says Gaza hostage deal possible before Biden term ends

Akayla Gardner, Bloomberg News on Jan 12, 2025

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Vice President-elect JD Vance said he believes a deal to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza could be struck before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in a week.

The signal comes as Trump has escalated threats against Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, to agree to a hostage deal before his Jan. 20 inauguration or face consequences.

“We’re hopeful there’s going to be a deal that’s struck towards the very end of Biden’s administration, maybe the last day or two,” Vance said, speaking on "Fox News Sunday."

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, recently traveled to Israel and Qatar to participate in negotiations.

Vance, in his first cable news interview since the election, said Trump’s rhetoric — including saying there will be “hell to pay” for Hamas — made him more optimistic that a deal will be struck before they take office.

“Regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that they’re going to be consequences for Hamas” Vance said about Trump’s return to office.

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, also expressed hope for a deal before the transfer of power to Trump.

“We’re very very close,” Sullivan said on CNN’s "State of the Union" on Sunday. “Can we get it done before the 20th? It is possible, but I certainly can’t make any predictions that we will.”

Brett McGurk, Biden’s Middle East and North Africa coordinator, has been in Doha, Qatar, “for a full week hammering out with the mediators the final details of a text to be presented to both sides,” Sullivan added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefed Biden during a phone call on Sunday on negotiations for a truce and hostage release in Gaza, Netanyahu’s office said. He also thanked Biden and Trump for helping in efforts to win freedom for hostages in Gaza.

Biden, meanwhile, stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and a surge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, according to a White House readout of the conversation.

Vance, the former Ohio senator, said consequences could include empowering Israel to “knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas and their leadership,” along with “very aggressive” sanctions on individuals supporting terrorist groups in the region.

Israel is still trying to recover nearly 100 hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas. Some women and children have been released. The hostages were taken during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people, igniting a massive response from Israel that has killed an estimated 46,000 people in Gaza.

Israel’s government has doubled down on Trump’s warnings, saying there will be a “total defeat” of Hamas if there is no agreement by the time the U.S. leader is sworn in. Netanyahu’s office said that it dispatched its top negotiators to Qatar-hosted talks on a proposed Gaza truce and hostage deal.

Witkoff also met with Netanyahu in Israel on Saturday. There’s been no formal pause in fighting since November 2023.

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(With assistance from Dan Williams.)

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