US President Joe Biden had harsh words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas in the aftermath of the terror group’s execution of six hostages held in Gaza, including Israel-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.Biden spoke with reporters prior to his meeting with members of his negotiating team at the White House on Monday.
He appeared to confirm reports that the US would soon present a final hostage deal to Israel and Hamas.“We’re very close to that,” he said when asked about that report. He was also quizzed as to why this effort would be successful when past initiatives had failed, he said, “Hope springs eternal.”
He added “We're not giving up. We're going to continue to push as hard as we can.”Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters that Biden’s comments were an acknowledgment that Netanyahu was undermining efforts.Zuhri added that any proposal for a permanent ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal would be received positively.
Biden spoke as Hersh, 23, was laid to rest in Jerusalem. Hamas released a video just before the funeral of the six hostages making short statements while in captivity. The other hostages were Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov and Ori Danino.
It was expected that four of the six, including Hersh would be freed in the first phase of a three-part deal that has been on the table since May 31.
With their death, there are 101 remaining hostages in Gaza, of which 66 are presumed to be alive.Although it was Labor Day weekend, Biden met in the White House’s Situation Room on Monday morning with Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and US Special Envoy Brett McGurk.
Biden presses Netanyahu
Biden, Harris and Sullivan have all spoken with Hersh’s parents Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg.At the meeting Biden “expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder, and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable,” the White House said.
Today, @VP and I met in the Situation Room with the U.S. hostage deal negotiation team following the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas.We are devastated and outraged. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.We also discussed next… pic.twitter.com/5aLADss2CS
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 2, 2024
Biden and Harris “received an update from the US negotiation team on the status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.
“They discussed next steps in the ongoing effort to secure the release of hostages, including continuing consultations with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt,” the White House said.
In the aftermath of Biden’s statement, Netanyahu called a press conference after days of pushing firm on his policy that he would not accept a deal at any price.
He has insisted in particular that Israel must retain an IDF presence in the Philadelphi Corridor a critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, under which Hamas has for years smuggled weapons into the coastal enclave.
Senior Israeli sources said that it is remarkable that Biden is trying to pressure Netanyahu, who agreed to both the President’s May 31st proposal and to the American "final bridging proposal" on August 16th, and not Hamas’s leader Sinwar, who continues to oppose the American proposal.
“The President's statement is also dangerous because it comes days after Hamas executed 6 hostages, including an American,” the senior sources said.
Biden and his negotiating team were expected to “discuss efforts” to advance “a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages,” the White House said.
The Missing and Hostage Families’ Forum thanked Biden for his efforts to free the hostages and urged Netanyahu to follow in his footsteps.
“It would have been better if the Prime Minister of Israel would have acted in a similar way to save the lives of the hostages and returned the bodies of those who were murdered on his watch,” the forum stated.“If we needed further proof that Netanyahu is thwarting the return of the hostages - we got it from the US president,” it stated.
“The Prime Minister's statement that we will not leave Philadelphi, not in 42 days and not in 42 years, is a dangerous statement that means there will be no deal and the families will not get to see their loved ones return home,” the forum stated.
The Israeli public won’t continue to allow the security cabinet to thwart the deal that “could have saved the lives of at least three of the six hostages who were buried in the last two days,” the forum said.
On Monday the country’s major trade union, the Histadrut, went on a general strike in an attempt to pressure the government to finalize a deal.