Biden and Harris to meet US negotiating team on Gaza hostage deal

Washington DC - President Joe Biden will sit down on Monday with US negotiators pushing for an Israel-Hamas hostage-release deal, the White House said, after the deaths of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are due to meet with negotiators for a temporary ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are due to meet with negotiators for a temporary ceasefire-hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.  © Collage: REUTERS

Biden's official schedule was revised to make time for the White House meeting, which will also be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him in November's presidential election.

A statement announcing Biden's updated schedule said he and Harris would meet Monday "with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team following the murder of American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday, and discuss efforts to drive towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages."

The US, along with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar, has spent months pushing for a hostage-prisoner exchange and ceasefire in Israel's all-out assault on Gaza.

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But the Biden-Harris administration has rejected mounting demands for an arms embargo on Israel – which many Americans say is the best way to secure a ceasefire.

Instead, the White House has continued to send lethal weapons to Israel, including approving another $20 billion in arms and military equipment just last month.

Israel prepares for nationwide strike

Hamas militants seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel, 97 of whom remain in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Meanwhile, Israel holds thousands of Palestinians in arbitrary detention amid widespread reports of torture. The occupying forces and settlers have killed at least 40,738 Palestinians in Gaza and 637 Palestinians in the West Bank since October.

A nationwide strike in Israel aimed at ramping up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure the release of the remaining captives was set to begin Monday.

Hostage relatives and advocates have accused Netanyahu's administration of not doing enough to bring the captives back alive, and have called for an immediate ceasefire to rescue the rest.

Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS

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