US President Joe Biden (L) previously met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on 18 October 2023. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
- Joe Biden reportedly intends to press Benjamin Netanyahu
for a Gaza ceasefire deal during their meeting on Thursday. - The relationship
between the US and Israel is tense due to Israel’s actions in the Gaza war,
even though Biden has continued to support Israel. - Negotiations on a
ceasefire are reportedly in the final stages but face challenges, including
demands from both Israel and Hamas.
Joe Biden
will press Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to seal a Gaza ceasefire deal,
despite the US president’s shock election exit threatening to limit his
leverage over the Israeli premier.
Netanyahu
will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris – the likely new Democratic
presidential nominee – at the White House on Thursday, one day after he gave a
speech to the US Congress vowing “total victory” against Hamas.
Relations
between Biden and Netanyahu are tense over Israel’s conduct in the war sparked
by Hamas’s 7 October attacks, despite the US president’s continued military and
political support for Washington’s key Middle East ally.
And while
Biden says he wants to secure a truce and hostage release deal in his last six
months in office, Netanyahu may be tempted to wait until after his lame duck
presidency and negotiate with his successor instead.
As part of
his first White House visit during Biden’s presidency, Netanyahu will hold
talks with the US leader in the Oval Office at 13:00 (17:00 GMT), and both will
later meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza.
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The Israeli
military announced on Thursday the recovery of the bodies of five people held
in Gaza since the 7 October attack, in an operation in the city of Khan Yunis.
In a
primetime speech explaining his decision on Sunday to bow out of the US
presidential election, the 81-year-old Biden made clear that the conflict would
remain a top priority.
“I’m
going to keep working to end the war on Gaza, bring home all the hostages to
bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war,” Biden said
in his address to the nation.
A senior US
administration official said on Wednesday that negotiations on a Gaza deal were
in the last stretch and that Biden would try to close some “final
gaps” with Netanyahu.
‘Closing stages’
“We
believe it’s in the closing stages and a deal is closeable,” the US
official said on condition of anonymity, adding that there would be “lot
of activity in the coming week.”
The US
official played down Netanyahu’s fiery speech to Congress, which sparked rowdy
protests.
A possible
truce now hinges on a handful of issues about how a deal would come into
effect, with Hamas having eased its demand for a full Israeli pull-out from the
Gaza Strip, the official said.
“I
don’t expect the meeting (with Netanyahu) to be a yes or no, it’s a kind of
like ‘how do we close these final gaps?’ And there are some things we need from
the Israeli side, no question,” the official said.
“But
there’s also some key things that are only in the hands of Hamas because the
hostages are in the hands of Hamas.”
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But in a
sign that the world may already be moving on without Biden, Netanyahu is set to
meet separately with Harris.
Harris has
previously been more outspoken about Israel’s conduct of the war, prompting
speculation that she will shift her policy as presidential nominee.
Republican
contender Donald Trump will meanwhile meet Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago
residence in Florida on Friday.
Biden has
offered Israel steadfast support since 7 October, even hugging Netanyahu at Tel
Aviv airport when he visited just days after the attacks on Israel.
But Biden
has been increasingly critical of Israel over the Palestinian death toll in its
offensive in Gaza, and criticised the amount of aid getting through to the
stricken territory.
The US
president unveiled a ceasefire plan in May, but negotiations between Israel and
Hamas have been torturous, and Israel’s assault on the enclave has continued.
Washington
has meanwhile continued its massive military support for Israel.
The Hamas
attack on 7 October resulted in the deaths of 1 197 people in Israel, most of
them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Out of 251
people taken hostage that day, 111 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip,
including 39 who the military says are dead.
More than
39 100 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip
since the war broke out, according to data provided by the health ministry of
Hamas-run Gaza.
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