Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday he was ready to work with Joe Biden for the rest of his presidency, as the two leaders met for the first time at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages. “I want to thank you for the 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Netanyahu said after they shook hands in the historic setting of the Oval Office.
“We feel that we’ve got to get this hostage deal in place so we can get a ceasefire also in place,” White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said during the White House press briefing as President Biden met with Netanyahu.
Kirby stated that there are still unresolved issues that will require both Israel and Hamas to make compromises. “We are close, we just have to finish it,” he added.
After the meeting, US families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza expressed renewed hope for the ceasefire deal soon. “We’re more optimistic than we’ve been since the first round of releases in late November and early December,” American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father Jonathan was quoted as saying by CNN.com. “President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu assured us they understand the urgency and are committed to finalising the deal quickly and with minimal changes,” he added.
Biden stunned the world Sunday when he announced that he was bowing out of the US presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris now set to be the Democratic Party’s candidate.
Netanyahu also met Harris separately at the White House, where the latter emphasised the urgent need to accept the ceasefire deal that would stop the ongoing conflict in Gaza and release American hostages kidnapped during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the war.
Meanwhile, Biden and Netanyahu have met just three times during his presidency, once in September last year in New York, and then when Biden traveled to Israel after the attacks and hugged Netanyahu on the airport tarmac at Tel Aviv.
The meetings come after Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas in a fiery speech Wednesday to the US Congress.
The White House was surrounded by metal barriers and a heavy police presence, after rowdy protests broke out near the Capitol following Netanyahu’s speech.
Harris on Thursday condemned the “despicable” and “unpatriotic” burning of an American flag by protesters, after attempts by Donald Trump’s Republicans to paint Democrats as pro-Hamas.
In a primetime speech explaining his decision on Sunday to bow out of the US presidential election, Biden made clear that resolving 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,” the US president said.
Netanyahu will meet Republican contender Donald Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The ex-president on Thursday morning urged Israel to quickly “finish up” its war in Gaza, warning its global image was being tarnished.
Biden has offered Israel steadfast support since October 7. But the US president has been increasingly critical of Israel over the Palestinian death toll in its offensive in Gaza, and criticized restrictions on the amount of aid getting through to the territory, much of which has been reduced to rubble.
The Hamas attack on October 7 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 have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
According to the Israeli military 327 soldiers have been killed in the Gaza military campaign since the start of the ground offensive on October 27.
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