President Joe Biden on Monday said he did not think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had done enough to secure a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, a comment that comes amid massive protests in Israel.
Biden made the remark to reporters after a weekend during which the bodies of six hostages executed by Hamas were found in a Gaza tunnel. Among those discovered was the body of 23-year-old American Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose parents had publicly pleaded for the return of their son. The pair had brought their personal appeal to the Democratic National Convention, where they were received with a standing ovation.
Two people briefed on discussions to secure a deal told NBC News that Biden may offer a final “take it or leave it” deal to Israel and Hamas as soon as this week in hope of reaching a cease-fire agreement. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan suggested the move as an option during a virtual meeting with U.S. hostage families Sunday, these people said.
The discovery of the hostages has launched massive protests of hundreds of thousands of people across Israel as dissenters accuse Netanyahu of failing to land a hostage deal. On Monday, a nationwide strike ensued, threatening to paralyze the economy.
Reporters asked Biden if he thought Netanyahu had done enough to secure an agreement, and Biden answered: “No.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly accused Hamas of holding up a deal, but recently U.S. and foreign officials have said conditions introduced by Netanyahu also disrupted efforts.
Netanyahu and the Israeli Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiation team in the White House Situation Room on Monday morning.
CIA Director William Burns, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk all attended the Situation Room meeting and may be deployed back to the region for another round of talks, a U.S. official said. All have traveled repeatedly in recent months to take part in various negotiations.
According to a readout of the meeting from the White House, Biden "expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder, and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable. "
They also discussed next steps in securing the release of the remaining Israeli hostages, including consultations with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt.
The U.S. was already working to pursue a “bridging proposal” under the latest framework to buy more time to iron out the outstanding differences among the parties before the bodies of the six hostages were discovered.
In that version of the proposal, Goldberg-Polin was expected to be among those hostages released in “phase one.” It’s unclear now how his death will affect any updated language in the next offer.
Sullivan, who also attended the meeting with Biden and Harris, spent Monday morning on the phone with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Those kinds of diplomatic conversations are expected to take place all week long in hope of making some progress, the U.S. official added.
From the White House's South Lawn, Biden said he was “very close” to presenting a final hostage deal this week.
But in a war that has been going on for a year, the president could not conclusively say the deal would be acceptable.
“Hope springs eternal,” he said.
Biden added that he had spoken to the hostages' families.
“I spoke to his mom and dad, and we’re not giving up. We’re going to continue to push as hard as we can,” he said.
