WASHINGTON — American President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the White House said, as U.S. officials work to reach an agreement. Gaza hostage agreement and ceasefire before Biden leaves office on January 20.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed ongoing efforts to reach an agreement to end fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free remaining hostages, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone .
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,” it said. he.
Netanyahu briefed Biden on progress and mandate for his top security delegation now in Doha in order to advance a hostage deal, Netanyahu said in a statement.
The two leaders also 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.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the sides were “very, very close” to a deal, but still needed to do so. to cross the finish line.
He said Biden was receiving daily updates on the talks in Doha, where Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in indirect talks between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
“We are still committed to using every day we have in office to get this done,” Sullivan said, “and we are not putting that aside, far from it.”
He said there was still a chance to reach an agreement before Biden leaves office, but it was also possible that “Hamas, in particular, will remain intransigent.”
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed its borders in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli counts.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave devastated and in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, and most of its population displaced.
Vice President-elect JD Vance told the Fox News Sunday program in a taped interview Saturday that he expects a deal to release U.S. hostages in the Middle East will be announced in the final days of the Biden administration, perhaps during the final days of the Biden administration. last day or two.
President-elect Donald Trumpa staunch supporter of Israel, strongly supported Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas. He promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but did not specify how he would achieve it.