With eight days left in office, Biden urges Netanyahu to agree to a Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending an Israeli delegation to Doha to negotiate a hostage deal.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

With just eight days left in office, US President Joe Biden, in a phone call on Sunday, insisted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Biden said there was an immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza so the hostages could be released and more humanitarian aid could be delivered.

In previous negotiations, Netanyahu has insisted that after a pause in fighting to release hostages, the war would resume until Israel achieved its military goals.

In the most recent negotiated agreement, Hamas has reportedly relaxed its demand for an immediate withdrawal of IDF troops before the release of the hostages, and Israel’s military may be able to remain in the Philadelphi corridor until the final phase.

President Biden also described how the situation in the region is “fundamentally changed” after the ceasefire with Hezbollah and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, weakening Iran’s power.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump for cooperating in this sacred mission,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

In an interview aired by CNN on Sunday, Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed cautious optimism regarding the chances of a deal being signed before Biden leaves office.

“Can we get it done before the 20th? It is possible, but I certainly can’t make any predictions,” Sullivan said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending an Israeli delegation to Doha to negotiate a hostage deal.

The decision follows a meeting between Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday.

In addition, Netanyahu held a situational assessment on the issue of hostages with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israel’s top security officials, and representatives from the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration.

Following the meeting, Netanyahu sent Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet director Ron Bar, IDF hostage point man Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, and political advisor Ophir Falk to Doha to negotiate the hostage deal.