With one week to go before the end of his term, Joe Biden may be taking one last shot at Donald Trump, who officially enters the White House on Jan. 20. U.S. and Israeli authorities have reported that negotiations on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages have reached a crossroad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a telephone conversation with the outgoing president about progress on a possible agreement, based on Biden’s proposals from last May, following meetings in Doha with Hamas leaders. It is the first phone call between the two that was made public since October 2024.
“The prime minister discussed with the U.S. president the progress in the negotiations for the release of the hostages and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating team in Doha,” Netanyahu’s office reported. According to the White House, Biden also spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister about the “fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.”
“We are very, very close [to a Gaza deal] and yet far because we are not there. It is possible to get it done before January 20 – but I can’t be sure,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is in Doha, told CNN.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is also reportedly in talks with two of his Cabinet politicians who are major supporters of the Gaza war: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Homeland Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Last May, both opposed Biden’s peace proposal, which calls for the immediate release of hostages and a “full and complete ceasefire,” arguing that Israel should continue fighting until Hamas is defeated completely.
Reaching an agreement with Hamas before Jan. 20 would be a snub to the Trump administration, which repeatedly declared during its election campaign that had Trump been in office, there would have been no war in Gaza or Ukraine. On Saturday, Netanyahu met with Trump’s chosen Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who was very optimistic about the ongoing negotiations in Doha.
