As Blinken returns to Middle East, recent hostage rescue complicates hopes for ceasefire

The recent rescue of four hostages will likely complicate US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's efforts to free the remaining hostages and reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to a senior administration official.

The release of the hostages strengthened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resolve to continue military operations, rather than agreeing to a ceasefire, the official told NBC News. And Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar, who has held firm despite intense pressure from Qatar and Egypt for a deal, may take an even harder line due to the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties during the Israeli rescue operation.

The senior official said some of the civilian casualties died in the crossfire of Hamas fighters responding to the Israeli operation. A second official said Hamas is ultimately responsible for the deaths of Palestinians by hiding hostages in densely populated areas.

He added that while the release of the four Israeli hostages is good news, it will not change the status quo because there are still a significant number of hostages, including five Americans who are believed to be alive. There are also three slain American hostages whose families are demanding the return of their remains.

Another complication for the diplomatic effort is the resignation Sunday of the centrist member of Israel's war cabinet, retired Gen. Benny Gantz.

In resigning, Gantz accused Netanyahu of mishandling the war and refusing to agree on what would happen to Gaza after hostilities ended. The Biden The administration had tried to persuade Gantz not to resign because his absence would only strengthen Netanyahu's ties to far-right members of his coalition.

When he returns to the region on Monday – his eighth since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 – aides say Blinken will also focus on the desperate need to deliver more aid to Gaza. Israel closed access to the Rafah crossing on May 6 before launching a new round of military operations there, making aid deliveries far too dangerous.

Egypt, Israel's oldest Arab ally, has also protested Israeli military operations in a border area between the two countries known as the Philadelphia Corridor. All of this will be part of Blinken's agenda when he meets with Egyptian President al-Sisi on Monday before traveling to Israel later in the day.

Over the past six months, the secretary of state has worked intensively on a so-called day-after plan for Israel to finally withdraw from Gaza and hand over security to a reformed Palestinian authority, with Arab leaders promising to then help to finance the post-Gaza war. war reconstruction. But with both sides opposing a ceasefire deal and protests sparked by the horrific toll in the exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas over the weekend, the chances of reaching a deal in the future close may fade.