Gaza Hostage Deal is Almost Ready, Says Joe Biden
Joe Biden says the US is super close to offering a new hostage deal to Israel and Hamas. Reports are saying this might be the “final” offer.
Biden and Kamala Harris, his vice president, met with negotiators in the Situation Room. They’re trying hard to get a ceasefire in Gaza and bring back the hostages that Hamas took.
On Monday, at the White House, Biden criticized Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he doesn’t think the Israeli leader is doing enough to make a deal happen. US officials are calling this new proposal a “take it or leave it deal” according to the Washington Post.
This comes after Israel found the bodies of six hostages in Gaza on Saturday. Their deaths caused big protests in Israel, with people upset about how Netanyahu is handling the war and hostage situation.
On Sunday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with the US families of the remaining hostages. The news site Axios reported that Sullivan told them Biden would make a “final” proposal for releasing hostages and a ceasefire later this week.
The US family of Edan Alexander, an Israeli soldier still a hostage in Gaza, is urging Israel to accept the deal, saying it’s “now or never.” Edan’s dad, Adi Alexander, praised the US for its “dedication and commitment” to making a deal happen. He said Sunday was his 15th meeting with Sullivan since his son was taken on October 7.
But in an interview with CBS News on Monday, he asked US officials to “do something different” because nothing has changed in 11 months. Mr. Alexander also accused Netanyahu of “dragging out the war for short-term political gain.” He added, “Time is passing, and we’re just getting more bodies out of Gaza. This is unacceptable.”
Biden said on Monday that the US isn’t giving up on the deal and is “going to keep pushing as hard as we can.” When asked if Netanyahu was doing enough, Biden simply said, “no.”
The Washington Post reported that the killing of the six hostages made Biden’s team more determined to push for a deal. One senior official told the newspaper, “You can’t keep negotiating this. We have to call it at some point.” But they also said the deaths didn’t stop the deal; instead, it added more urgency.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying for months to make a deal that includes a ceasefire in Gaza and releasing the remaining hostages held by Hamas. The Biden administration has blamed Hamas for not agreeing to a deal, but they’ve also said Netanyahu’s demands have made things harder.
The war started after Hamas breached the Gaza border, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 251 hostages on October 7. Israel has since killed over 40,000 Palestinians in response, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
The US response to the war has affected the Biden administration and Harris, who is the Democratic nominee in the upcoming US presidential election in November. Pro-Palestinian groups in the party are calling for a ceasefire.
Harris’s opponent, Republican nominee Donald Trump, has blamed Harris and Biden for failing to secure a deal, which led to the deaths of the hostages last weekend.
Also Read: Israel Recovers Gaza Hostages: Bodies of Six Found in Rafah Tunnel
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