NBC News made an exclusive interview with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday (November 9), where he revealed that his country did not receive any substantial offer from Hamas on a deal to free the more or less 240 hostages they were holding in Gaza, contrary to previous reports of a deal close to being brokered.
"There is no real proposal that is viable from Hamas' side on this issue," he said. "Whilst there are many, many people who are third parties who are sending optimistic messages to the newsreels, I'm saying outright: according to my knowledge, up to now, there is no real substantial information that is showing any real offer of any process on the table."
The office of the President of Israel has a limited role in the country's government, with most executive powers vested in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Nonetheless, the president is briefed on Israeli intelligence and political decisions.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office at the White House on July 18, 2023, in Washington, DC. Herzog is on a multi-day visit to the United States where he is set to meet President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Congressional leaders as well as address a joint meeting of Congress to reaffirm the US-Israel relationship.
Efforts to Bring the Hostages Home
When asked if the lack of progress on negotiations meant Israel's only option to recover the hostages was a military rescue, Herzog replied that he did not "intend to go into this at all." He said that Israel had "thousands" of officials working on the hostage issue.
"We are working both on the military funds and on all other fronts to bring them back home," he added.
Herzog also denied there was a rift with the US government over humanitarian pauses in the fighting inside Gaza, which could form part of any agreement - despite growing indications of American alarm with the Israeli approach in the city as civilian deaths soar.
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Visible Differences in Approach
Washington has been discussing terms with Israel and Qatar regarding a proposal for a three-day pause that would allow for the delivery of more humanitarian aid and the possible release of some of the hostages, according to several US and foreign diplomats familiar with the matter.
This week, Herzog spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris on the matter, saying that they discussed the issue.
"How do we make sure that humanitarian aid flows in?" the president explained. "And one of the ideas is a humanitarian pause, which is a legitimate idea. But we say we cannot move to anything without getting the hostages."
Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground assault on Gaza, prompting calls both at home and abroad to declare a ceasefire, as well as warnings from international human rights officials that some of the strikes might be tantamount to war crimes.
Despite this, Netanyahu refused any pauses in their military campaign that were longer than a few hours.
For Herzog's part, he said the civilian casualties in Gaza were "tear[ing his] heart" but insisted that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) was facing "impossible dynamics" in its fight against Hamas forces hiding in a web of tunnels beneath civilian areas and vital facilities like hospitals.
"Every target is hand-picked and checked by legal experts and security experts," he explained without elaborating on the process.
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