President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss ongoing negotiations for a deal. ceasefire agreement and release of hostages with Hamas.
During the call, the two leaders discussed the deal based on the arrangement Mr. Biden outlined last year, the White House said.
“The president discussed fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region” , the White House said in a statement.
Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that the prime minister had briefed Biden on the progress of the negotiations.
“The Prime Minister discussed with the US President the progress of negotiations for the release of our hostages and informed him of the mandate he gave to the negotiating team in Doha, aimed at advancing the release of the hostages” , Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. a declaration.
The Biden administration has been pushing to reach a deal before the presidential inauguration on January 20, which will see President-elect Donald Trump return to the White House.
Susan Walsh/AP
A sign of progress in the ongoing negotiations in Doha, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday. Mossad foreign intelligence director David Barnea to visit Qatar. It was not immediately clear when Barnea would travel to Doha for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. However, his presence means that senior Israeli officials who would have to sign any agreement are now involved, the Associated Press reported.
The talks, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, have repeatedly stalled. Only one brief ceasefire was reached during the first weeks of fighting.
“(Mr. Biden) stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages with an increase in humanitarian aid made possible by a cessation of fighting under the agreement,” the White House said. “The Prime Minister thanked the President for his lifelong support of Israel and for extraordinary support from the United States for the security and national defense of Israel.
Trump’s new Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in Qatar and Israel this week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that a deal was “very close” and that he hoped to conclude it before handing diplomacy over to the new Trump administration. But U.S. officials have expressed the same optimism repeatedly over the past year.
Israel launched an offensive on the Gaza Strip after declaring war on Hamas following deadly attacks by the group’s militants on October 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people. Another 251 people were taken hostage.
Israel’s bombing and ground invasion of Gaza killed more than 46,000 Palestiniansmore than half of whom are women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.