Biden and Netanyahu discuss the ceasefire in Gaza, amid American optimism about reaching an agreement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday about efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the war between Israel and Hamas, signaling intensified efforts to reach an agreement before Donald Trump’s next inauguration.

Talks brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly faltered over the past year when they appeared on the verge of reaching an agreement. In recent days, US officials have expressed hope of reaching an agreement.

Sunday’s call between Biden and Netanyahu came while the head of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, and Biden’s senior Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, were in the Qatari capital, Doha. Barnea’s presence, confirmed by Netanyahu’s office, means that high-ranking Israeli officials who would have to sign off on any agreement are now participating in the talks.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told CNN that McGurk is working on the final details of the text that will be presented to both sides. State of the Union. But he said he did not predict whether an agreement could be reached by January 20, the day of the inauguration.

“We are very, very close,” he said. “However, being so close means we are far away because until we actually get to the finish line, we won’t be there.”

The White House and Netanyahu’s office confirmed the phone call between the two leaders without providing details.

A brief ceasefire was achieved only once during the 15 months of war, and that was in the first weeks of fighting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that the agreement was “very close” and expressed hope that it would be completed before the diplomacy was handed over to the incoming Trump administration.

A phased ceasefire is now being discussed, with Netanyahu indicating that he is only committed to the first phase, which is a partial release of hostages in exchange for a cessation of fighting for a period of weeks.

Hamas insists on a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the largely devastated area, but Netanyahu insists on destroying Hamas’ ability to fight in Gaza.

Issues in the talks included which hostages would be released in the first part of an interim ceasefire agreement, which Palestinian prisoners would be released, and the extent of any withdrawal of Israeli forces from population centers in Gaza.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza led to the killing of more than 46,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, whose statistics do not give details between fighters and civilians.

The Israeli campaign was sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, in which the militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 others, according to Israeli statistics.

The families of about 100 hostages still being held in Gaza are pressing Netanyahu to reach an agreement to bring their loved ones home. The Israelis gathered again on Saturday night in the city of Tel Aviv, and displayed pictures of the hostages.

In Gaza, the Palestinians reduced their hopes of stopping the Israeli campaign that destroyed a large part of the Strip and forced more than 80 percent of the Strip’s population of 2.3 million people to leave their homes.

Mazen Hammad, a resident of the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the country, said, “We hear that there are negotiations every day, but we see nothing.” He added, “When we see it on the ground, we think there is a truce.”