Biden speaks with Netanyahu of Israel as talks continue to end the fighting in Qatar

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss ongoing negotiations for the ceasefire agreement and release of hostages and Hamas.

During the phone call, the two leaders discussed an agreement based on the plan outlined by Mr. Biden last year, the White House said.

“The President discussed the situation in the region that has changed dramatically following the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the decline of Iran’s influence in the region,” the White House said in a statement.

Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that the prime minister had informed Biden of how the talks were progressing.

“The prime minister discussed with the American president the progress in negotiations for the release of our hostages and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating team in Doha, which aims to advance the release of the hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said. statement.

The Biden administration has been pushing for a deal before the January 20 inauguration that would see President-elect Donald Trump return to the White House.

It is a sign of progress in the ongoing talks in Doha, Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday David Barnea, director of the Mossad intelligence agency, will travel to Qatar. It is not clear when Barnea will go to Doha where there will be indirect talks between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. However, his presence means that the top Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any deal are now involved, the Associated Press reports.

These negotiations, which were mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, have stalled several times. Only a brief truce was achieved in the first weeks of the fighting.

“(Mr. Biden) emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages with the help of aid created by the ceasefire agreement,” the White House said. “The prime minister thanked the president for supporting Israel throughout his life and extraordinary support from the United States to defend Israel and to defend the country.”

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

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. But U.S. officials have expressed similar optimism several times in the past year.

Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip after declaring war on Hamas following a deadly attack by the group’s forces on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people. Another 251 were captured.

Israel’s bombing and ground offensive in Gaza killed more than 46,000 Palestiniansmore than half of them are women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their numbers.