Biden: "Israel and Hamas Very Close to Hostage Negotiations... Netanyahu's Efforts Insufficient"

WP "US to Withdraw from Mediation if No Progress Within Weeks"

President Joe Biden stated on the 2nd (local time) that the final negotiations for the release of hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian armed group Hamas are very close.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Biden said this during a meeting with reporters at the White House that day.

However, he pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not making sufficient efforts to bring about such negotiations.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, are scheduled to meet with the U.S. government's hostage negotiation team at the White House that day to discuss ways to push for a negotiation settlement.

Biden's remarks urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to actively engage in negotiations came after the U.S. daily newspaper The Washington Post reported that if Israel and Hamas do not agree on a final negotiation plan within the next few weeks, the U.S. may withdraw from mediating the Gaza ceasefire talks. The newspaper reported that the U.S. is considering preparing a final version of the negotiation plan to conclude the ceasefire and hostage release and issuing an ultimatum to both sides.

The reason the ceasefire negotiations between the two sides have not been concluded is due to ongoing disagreements over whether to continue stationing Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor. Hamas demands the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza. On the other hand, Israel insists that its troops must continue to be stationed there, as it is a passageway for Hamas's weapons and supplies.

Meanwhile, six Israeli hostages who had been taken by Hamas were recently found dead in Gaza, prompting the Israeli public to strongly urge the Netanyahu government to immediately establish a ceasefire for the release of hostages. On the 1st, about 700,000 protesters took to the streets across Israel to hold demonstrations calling for a ceasefire. It was reported to be the largest protest since the Israel-Hamas war broke out last October.