USA pushes for hostage deal – warning words to Netanyahu

Israel’s head of government is holding political talks in Washington – with US President Biden and his deputy Harris. Both have clear words for Netanyahu. Now he wants to meet Trump.

US President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a speedy agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza war. At the meeting in the White House, Biden pointed out the need to “close the remaining gaps, conclude the agreement as quickly as possible, bring the hostages home and achieve a permanent end to the war in Gaza,” the White House said. Biden’s US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris made similar comments. Netanyahu is to be received by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Florida today.

“It’s time to get this deal done,” Harris said after her meeting with Netanyahu. According to a report, relatives of American-Israeli hostages gained new hope after a separate meeting with Biden and Netanyahu that a deal with the Islamist Hamas could soon be achieved. They are now “more optimistic than before,” the US news portal “Axios” quoted three sources who were present at the meeting. Netanyahu promised the relatives in Biden’s presence that Israel would present an updated proposal for an agreement within a few days, they said.

Indirect negotiations, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, are to continue next week in the Qatari capital Doha. In a speech on Wednesday before both houses of the US Congress, Netanyahu had previously announced no agreement, contrary to the hopes of relatives of the 115 hostages remaining in Gaza, and instead rejected any criticism of the actions in the Gaza Strip.

Thanks to Biden’s leadership, an agreement is on the table, Harris continued. There is “hopeful progress in the talks.” For Harris, who did not attend Netanyahu’s speech in the US Congress because of a campaign appearance, the meeting with Netanyahu was the first important test in her role as a possible replacement candidate for the Democrats in the presidential election campaign. She wants to beat the Republican Trump in the US election on November 5th after Biden withdrew from the race.

Harris and Biden declared their support for Israel during their meetings with Netanyahu. Biden reaffirmed “the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran and its proxies.” At the same time, Biden and Harris urged Netanyahu to increase humanitarian aid in Gaza and improve protection for civilians. It is necessary to “remove all obstacles to the flow of aid and restore basic services to those in need,” Biden said.

“Israel has the right to defend itself, and how it does so matters,” Harris said. She expressed her “grave concern about the scale of human suffering in the Gaza Strip.” This includes the deaths of “too many innocent civilians,” Harris said. “We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb in the face of suffering, and I will not remain silent.”

Before Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu today, the Republican spoke on a program on the US broadcaster Fox News. With regard to the war in the Gaza Strip and Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said: “I want him to end it quickly.”

With him as US president, the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7 would not have happened, Trump claimed. “You know, October 7 would never have happened. If I had been president, there would have been no way. Iran would have been broke, there would have been no money for Hamas or Hezbollah. It just wouldn’t have happened – no chance,” said the 78-year-old. The massacre triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.