President Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to reach a hostage deal with Hamas militants.
Biden made the remarks to reporters before heading to the Situation Room, where he and Vice President Harris met with a hostage settlement negotiating team following the killing of 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday.
The meeting was closed to the press, but the White House provided a summary and photographs afterward.
“President Biden expressed his devastation and outrage over the killing and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas leaders accountable,” the White House said. “During the meeting, President Biden and Vice President Harris received an update from the U.S. negotiating team on the status of the transition proposal put forward by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt. They discussed next steps in the ongoing effort to secure the release of the hostages, including continued consultations with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat next to Harris during the meeting, as seen in a photo. Other participants included CIA Director Bill Burns; Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients; national security adviser Jake Sullivan; as well as Jon Finer, assistant to the president and principal deputy national security adviser; Phil Gordon, assistant to the president and national security adviser to the vice president; and Brett McGurk, deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council.
FATHER OF ISRAELI-AMERICAN HOSTAGE CALLS FOR DEAL ‘WITH SATAN’ BEFORE BIDEN AND HARRIS ENTER SITUATION ROOM
The White House released a photo of President Biden in the Situation Room. (White House)
Biden had taken questions from reporters Monday morning before heading to the Situation Room. On the South Lawn of the White House, where Biden disembarked from Marine One upon returning from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, a reporter asked him: “Mr. President, do you think it’s time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he’s doing enough?”
“No,” the president replied flatly.
Asked what makes him think this deal will succeed in a way the other proposals haven’t, Biden said early Monday: “Hope is the last thing you lose.” The president said “we’re very close” to being able to present a final deal on the hostages. He told reporters he was heading to a national security meeting and would travel to Pittsburgh later in the day.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Harris in the situation room. (Office of the Vice President)
“Yes. I’ve spoken to the American hostage… I’ve spoken to his mother and father, and we will not give up. We’re going to continue to push with all our might. Thank you,” Biden said.
Before Biden and Harris entered the Situation Room, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of an Israeli-American hostage still being held by Hamas, called on the United States and Israel to negotiate a deal “with Satan.”
NETANYAHU MOURNS THE DEATH OF SIX HOSTAGES RECOVERED IN GAZA AND PROMISES TO ‘SETTLE ACCOUNTS’ WITH HAMAS
President Joe Biden walks from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from Rehoboth Beach, Del. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Dekel-Chen, who appeared on “Fox & Friends,” acknowledged that the The United States together with Qatar and Egypt are trying to broker a deal between Israel and “a savage terrorist organisation” but insisted that Israeli intelligence shows Hamas forces are exhausted at this stage.
President Biden speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from Rehoboth Beach, Del. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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He said Netanyahu cannot offer “one more excuse not to complete this deal” to bring home the remaining 101 hostages, including seven Americans, taken in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Israel witnessed a massive labor strike on Monday after demonstrators took to the streets en masse on Sunday to protest the failure of Israel’s leadership to reach a deal to release hostages 11 months after the start of the war.
