Biden speaks with Israel's Netanyahu as ceasefire negotiations take place in Qatar

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, reported from CBS News.

During the call, the two leaders discussed the deal based on the arrangement outlined by Mr. Biden last year, the White House said.

"The President discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran's power in the region," the White House said in a statement.

Netanyahu's office said Sunday the prime minister informed Biden how the talks were progressing.

"The prime minister discussed with the American president the progress in the negotiations for the release of our hostages and updated him on the mandate he has given to the negotiating team in Doha, aimed at advancing the release of the hostages," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The Biden administration has been putting pressure for a deal before the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 that will see President-elect Donald Trump return to the White House.

A sign of progress in the ongoing talks in Doha, Netanyahu's office on Saturday said David Barnea, the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency, would be traveling to Qatar. It was not immediately clear when Barnea would travel to Doha for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. However, his presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved, the Associated Press reported.

The talks, mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, have repeatedly stalled. Just one brief ceasefire was achieved in the early weeks of fighting.

"(Mr. Biden) stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal," the White House said. "The prime minister thanked the president for his lifelong support of Israel and for the extraordinary support from the United States for Israel's security and national defense."

Trump's incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was in Qatar and Israel this week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week a deal is "very close" and he hoped to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration. But US officials have expressed similar optimism on several occasions over the past year.





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