Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with US President Joe Biden about the progress in negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal.
“The prime minister discussed with the American president the progress in the negotiations to release our hostages and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating team to Doha in order to advance the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Sunday.
It added, “the prime minister wanted to thank the American President (Joe) Biden and the incoming President Donald Trump for their cooperation for the holy mission.”
The White House said Biden and Netanyahu discussed the negotiations in Doha, based on the proposal the US president laid out in May. Biden once again called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the hostages and increased humanitarian aid to the enclave.
Biden also spoke to Netanyahu about the “fundamentally changed regional circumstances” following the ceasefire in Lebanon in November last year, the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime the following month, and Iran’s weakened position in the region, the White House said.
The call between the two leaders comes as Netanyahu summoned two major critics of Biden’s ceasefire deal proposal to meetings to discuss a potential deal.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have previously rejected a peace proposal laid out by Biden in May of last year, which would pair a release of hostages with a “full and complete ceasefire.” Both ministers rejected the idea of an immediate ceasefire and have called for fighting to continue until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned.
The far-right ministers have previously threatened to resign and topple Netanyahu’s governing coalition if he accepted Biden’s proposal.
The meetings with the Israeli cabinet members on Sunday come as Israeli negotiators have expressed “cautious optimism” at the talks ongoing in Doha this weekend, which involve a high-level Israeli delegation including Mossad chief David Barnea.
This is a developing story and will be updated.