Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that President-elect Trump wants to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal before inauguration day on Jan. 20, Axios reported on Friday.
“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham told Axios.
“I want people in Israel and in the region to know that Trump is focused on the hostages issue. He wants the killing to stop and the fighting to end,” the senator added.
Graham’s comments come after he returned from his second trip to the Middle East this month, and days after President Biden announced a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Isreal and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump’s transition team received briefings on the Lebanon ceasefire deal, which follows nearly 14 months of intensive rocket fire, airstrikes and an Israeli ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
Amos Hochstein, Biden’s lead negotiator on the ceasefire, led two briefings with Trump’s national security team on the tenants of the deal — which was announced on Tuesday — and U.S. commitments including providing oversight of implementation.
Trump has said Israel needs to finish the war quickly, though as with the Russia-Ukraine war has offered few specifics on his plans to end the conflict.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5015372-trump-ceasefire-hostage-deal-inauguration/
“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham told Axios.
“I want people in Israel and in the region to know that Trump is focused on the hostages issue. He wants the killing to stop and the fighting to end,” the senator added.
Graham’s comments come after he returned from his second trip to the Middle East this month, and days after President Biden announced a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Isreal and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Trump’s transition team received briefings on the Lebanon ceasefire deal, which follows nearly 14 months of intensive rocket fire, airstrikes and an Israeli ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
Amos Hochstein, Biden’s lead negotiator on the ceasefire, led two briefings with Trump’s national security team on the tenants of the deal — which was announced on Tuesday — and U.S. commitments including providing oversight of implementation.
Trump has said Israel needs to finish the war quickly, though as with the Russia-Ukraine war has offered few specifics on his plans to end the conflict.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5015372-trump-ceasefire-hostage-deal-inauguration/