Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday about efforts to reach an agreement to end the war and release hostages in the Israel-Hamas war, a sign of a strong push to reach an agreement before the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump.
Negotiations brokered over the past year by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have stalled several times when they appeared to be close to an agreement. In recent days, American officials have expressed hope of closing the deal.
Sunday’s call between Biden and Netanyahu came as the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, and Biden’s top Mideast adviser, Brett McGurk, were both based in the Qatari capital Doha. Barnea’s presence, confirmed by Netanyahu’s office, means the top Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any deal are now involved in the talks.
McGurk was working on the final details of the document to be presented to both sides, Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN’s. State of the Union. But he said he would not predict that an agreement could be reached on January 20, the day of his inauguration.
“We are very close,” he said. “However, being close means that we are far because until you cross the line, we are not there.”
The White House and Netanyahu’s office confirmed the phone call between the two leaders without providing details.
Only a brief truce was achieved in the 15 months of the war, and that happened in the first weeks of the fighting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that a deal is “very close” and he hopes to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the Trump administration.
What is now being discussed is a phased ceasefire, with Netanyahu indicating that he is only committed to the first phase, the release of hostages separately from the week-long ceasefire.
Hamas has insisted on a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the heavily damaged area, but Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas’ fighting capacity in Gaza.
Ceasefire talks and a hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the talks say a deal could be signed in the coming days. Palestinians in southern Gaza say they hope this round of talks will see an end to the war so that life can resume.
Issues in the talks include which hostages will be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which Palestinian prisoners will be released and the extent of any Israeli military withdrawal from civilian centers in Gaza.
The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the area, whose number does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
The Israeli operation was launched by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which the army killed about 1,200 people and captured about 250 people, according to Israeli figures.
The families of about 100 hostages who are still being held in Gaza are pressuring Netanyahu to reach an agreement to bring their loved ones home. Israelis gathered again on Saturday night in the city of Tel Aviv, showing photos of the hostages.
In Gaza, Palestinians have been dwindling their hopes for an end to Israel’s campaign, which has devastated much of the territory and driven more than 80 percent of its 2.3 million people from their homes.
“We hear that there are talks every day, but we don’t see anything,” said Mazen Hammad, a resident of the southern town of Khan Younis. “When we see it on the ground, we believe there is an agreement.”
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