Netanyahu didn't do enough on the hostage deal - Biden
Agency
03/09/2024
File photo shows President Joe Biden meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office, White House on July 25. – Reuters photo
WASHINGTON: The President of the United States (US), Joe Biden, on Monday criticized the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who he claimed did not take enough effort to reach an agreement on the release of hostages held by the Palestinian fighting force, Hamas.
Asked by reporters at the White House - where Biden arrived for a meeting with US negotiators - whether he thought the Israeli leader had taken sufficient efforts, the US President replied: "No."
Biden's meeting with negotiators on the hostage release deal comes after the deaths of six hostages in Gaza on Saturday, including a US citizen.
According to President Biden, negotiators are "very close" to a final proposal to present to Israel and Hamas.
Biden's schedule has been rearranged to allow him time to attend meetings at the White House that will also be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to replace him in the November presidential election.
The White House said in a statement that Biden and Harris will meet "with the US hostage agreement negotiating team following the killing of American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday and discuss efforts to push toward an agreement that secures the release of the remaining hostages." ".
The US along with its mediator partners Egypt and Qatar have spent months pushing for a hostage exchange and a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
Hamas forces allegedly captured 251 hostages during an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Dozens of hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
An Israeli court on Monday ordered a halt to what it described as the country's largest-ever demonstration and demonstration.
The mega demonstration was held across Israel to increase pressure on the Netanyahu government to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Relatives of the hostages and lawyers accused the Netanyahu administration of not doing enough to return the captives alive and called for an immediate ceasefire.
In addition to the hostages, the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in 1,205 deaths, mostly civilians.
The Zionist regime's response to Palestine has killed more than 40,786 Palestinians in Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
Most of the dead in Palestine were women and children, according to the United Nations human rights office. - Agency
