Biden presses Netanyahu to close gap with Hamas on cease-fire talks
The US president reportedly urged Netanyahu to accept compromise in negotiations with Hamas in order to end the Gaza conflict amid concerns among some in Washington that the Israeli leader may be drawing out the war for political gain.
WASHINGTON — In their first meeting at the White House since he took office, US President Joe Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to work to close a cease-fire deal with Hamas to end the nine-month war in the Gaza Strip.
Biden administration officials have pressed for a negotiated halt to the Gaza war as a necessary step for defusing a series of other emerging confrontations in the region, which policymakers fear could merge into a wider Middle East war.
The US president on Wednesday was expected to pledge continued US support for Israel’s self-defense amid a spate of missile and drone attacks by Iran-armed militias in the region. Most of the militias, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, have characterized their attacks as retribution for Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza.
The two leaders were also slated to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where experts say the Israeli campaign has led to half a million people facing acute food insecurity and the death of nearly 40,000 Palestinians.
