Biden and Netanyahu at odds again after US president says Israeli PM not doing enough in ceasefire-hostage release talks
CNN
President Biden said Monday he is “close” to presenting a final deal to negotiators working to strike a hostage and ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and added Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure the hostages’ release.
President Joe Biden said Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas and added he is “close” to presenting a final deal to negotiators working to strike a hostage and ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The president’s comments came as he was returning to the White House to huddle with American officials who have been working to secure a deal that would pair a release of hostages held in Gaza with a pause in the fighting. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, also attended the meeting before joining Biden for a campaign event in Pittsburgh. The hostage release efforts gained new urgency over the weekend with the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah, including the Israeli-American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The deaths have sparked outrage inside Israel, leading to enormous protests and a nationwide strike Monday. Demonstrators have called on Netanyahu to put aside political ambitions to strike an agreement that would allow hostages to be released. Asked Monday whether Netanyahu was doing enough to reach an agreement, Biden said simply: “No.” His one-word answer kept with Biden’s reluctance to criticize Netanyahu in public, but nonetheless reflected deep frustrations inside the White House at how the Israeli leader has handled the conflict and the hostage talks.
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