The signal comes at a time when Trump has escalated threats against Hamas, a group designated as terrorist by the United States, to accept a hostage deal before his January 20 inauguration or face the consequences.
“We are hopeful that an agreement will be reached towards the end of the Biden administration, maybe in the last day or two,” Vance said, speaking on Fox News Sunday.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s incoming envoy to the Middle East, He recently traveled to Israel and Qatar to participate in the negotiations.
Vance, in his first cable news interview since the election, said Trump’s rhetoric — including his claim that there will be “hell to pay” for Hamas — made him more optimistic that a deal will be reached before take over.
“Regardless of when that agreement is reached, It will be because people are terrified that there will be consequences for Hamas“Vance said of 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 are very, very close,” Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “Can we achieve it before the 20th? “It’s possible, but I certainly can’t make any predictions that we will achieve it.”
The White House holds a press conference
Brett McGurk, Biden’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, has been in Doha, Qatar, “for an entire week negotiating with the mediators the final details of a text that will be presented to both parties,” Sullivan added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefed Biden during a phone call on Sunday about negotiations for a truce and the release of hostages in Gaza, Netanyahu’s office said. He also thanked Biden and Trump for helping efforts to free the hostages in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Biden emphasized the immediate need for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an increase in humanitarian aid in Gaza, according to a White House statement about the conversation.
Vance, a former senator from Ohio, said consequences could include empowering Israel to “eliminate the last two battalions of Hamas and their leaders,” along with “very aggressive” sanctions against individuals who support terrorist groups in the region.
Israel continues to try to recover almost 100 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Some women and children have been released. The hostages were taken during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and triggered a massive Israeli response that has killed some 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 American leader is sworn in. Netanyahu’s office said he sent his top negotiators to talks hosted in Qatar on a proposed Gaza truce and a hostage deal.
Witkoff also met with Netanyahu in Israel on Saturday. There has been no formal pause in fighting since November 2023.
