Top White House advisor travels to Middle East in last ditch push for a Gaza deal

• Biden doesn't have much leverage over leaders in the region, but Trump's public demand for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza puts pressure on Hamas, the Egyptian and Qatari mediators, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal.
• "We're working very hard to get the hostages back and as you know Jan. 20 is a very big day," Trump said on Tuesday in a meeting with Israeli-American Judith Raanan, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the October 2023 attacks and held in Gaza for two weeks before the militant group released her.
• The are 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, including seven Americans. Israeli intelligence services believe roughly half of the hostages are still alive.

Driving the news: The White House said Sullivan will travel to the region on Wednesday and meet with Netanyahu on Thursday.

• Sullivan will meet with Israeli leaders to discuss a number of issues, including a hostage-release and ceasefire in Gaza deal, the latest developments in Syria, as well as Lebanon and Iran, White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett told Axios in a statement.
• He's then planning to travel to Cairo and Doha to meet Egyptian and Qatari leaders and discuss their mediation efforts.

Two sources briefed about Sullivan's trip said he is planning to press the Israelis, Qataris and Egyptian to do what it takes to conclude the deal within days and start implementing it as soon as possible.

• On Tuesday, Sullivan met for the fifteenth time with the families of the American hostages held in Gaza and told them the Biden administration is working with Trump and his team to secure the safe release of all hostages. He said "this remains a critical priority for President Biden," according to a statement by the families.
• Also on Tuesday, Israeli Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi visited Cairo and met with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad and senior Egyptian military officials, according to a source familiar with the trip.
• One of the issues they discussed was the hostage-release and ceasefire deal.

State of play: Last week Israel gave Hamas an updated proposal for a deal to release some of the remaining 100 hostages held by Hamas and begin a ceasefire in Gaza, two Israeli officials said.

• The updated framework is not significantly different from the proposal that was negotiated in August but didn't materialize. The focus now is on trying to implement mainly the first phase of that deal with some changes, Israeli officials said.
• The officials said Hamas has shown more willingness to be flexible and begin implementing even a partial deal.
• "Until recently, the thinking in Israel was that Hamas doesn't want a deal — now it seems that there is a shift and that Hamas may have changed its mind," a senior Israeli official said.
• The Israeli official said there has been progress in the negotiations, but no understandings have been reached yet that would allow Israel and Hamas to move toward detailed negotiations on a final agreement.

What they're saying: White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday that "we are not on the verge of completion of a deal, but we think there is a chance to get a deal done. There is still work to do. Hamas remains the obstacle and we are pressing hard."

• "There is a chance of reaching a deal in the coming month before Biden ends his presidency," an Israeli official said.