The families of American hostages detained in Gaza by Palestinian groups have pushed the Biden administration to negotiate a hostage exchange with Hamas without involving Tel Aviv, NBC News has learned. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is carrying on the military operations in Gaza, and so most families worry that Israel may not seek a deal to free the hostages. 

 As of today, four Americans are in captivity held in Gaza, and the US is equally in the process of seeking to bring home three others presumed dead. However, the administration officials have cited a big problem of negotiating without Israel since the US lacks adequate muscle to force concessions out of Hamas and may not have enough clout to make the deal on its own. 

 Hamas has consistently demanded two significant concessions in exchange for the hostages: a ceasefire and the freeing of almost a thousand Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. These offer attributes can only be supplied by Israel; hence, any side deal, in this case, would be implausible without Israel. 

 Although President Biden accused Netanyahu of not making the necessary efforts to agree to a ceasefire, he said this week that the White House is ‘very near’ to submitting the last ceasefire offer to both Israel and Hamas. However, several US officials have stated that Netanyahu may be dragging his feet to wait for the next US election to have Republican nominee former President Donald Trump win the elections and apply relatively less pressure to force concessions. 

 Major issues whose outcome continues to be contentious remain the number of Palestinian prisoners that should be released as well as the context under which Israel should pull out of the Gaza-Egypt frontier. However, the families of the hostages urge the Biden administration to keep looking for ways how to release the detained persons as soon as possible. 

The need for a deal has increased with time as the families of the captives await their release with lots of concern. They opine that expecting a comprehensive ceasefire between Israelis and Hamas may extend the time the hostages are in the captor’s den. Due to the increasing turmoil in Gaza, the families fear that their dear ones might not survive the current aggression. Some of the family members complained that the US has done little to force the two sides to end the occupation – a message Biden was told that he must deliver from the White House and take even more decisive action – including, if necessary, Israel. 

 Although the administration acknowledges these issues, the officials continue to stress that the ‘Hamas list of demands is directly linked with Israeli actions,’ which does not allow it to progress in any other way. Another constraint that is still apparent in direct diplomacy with Hamas is the absence of leverage, and indeed, all options are being weighed, though officials warn that any parallel deal is very tricky provided without the cooperation of Israel. These elaborate negotiations make hostages’ fates remain unsettled as the case continues.