In remarks at the White House following a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Joe Biden said the United States is actively working on ensuring a sustained pause to the fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“The United States is working on a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which would bring an immediate and sustained period of calm to Gaza for at least six weeks, which we could then take the time to build something more enduring,” Biden said.
“Over the past month, I’ve had calls with [Israel] Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, to push this forward,” the president continued. “The key element of the deals are on the table. There are gaps that remain, but I’ve encouraged Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal. The United States will do everything possible to make it happen.”
This comes amid reports that Biden is growing increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu, who has expanded the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Israeli military forces rescued two hostages from Hamas early Monday in a Rafah apartment building amid airstrikes that allegedly killed dozens of Palestinians.
