BUELLTON, California, Aug 21 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, stressed the urgent need to conclude a Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal and pointed to upcoming Cairo talks as crucial, the White House said.
Negotiators who have struggled for months to conclude a ceasefire deal plan to meet in the coming days in Cairo.
The statement said Biden and Netanyahu also discussed U.S. efforts to support Israel “against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, to include ongoing defensive U.S. military deployments.”
Iran has vowed retaliation over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, which it blamed on Israel.
“President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to discuss the ceasefire and hostage release deal and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions,” a White House statement said earlier.
Getting a Gaza ceasefire deal is a major priority for Biden.
A senior U.S. official on Friday described the talks as close to a deal but a final agreement has been agonizingly elusive.
In talks to halt fighting in the 10-month-old war, Hamas is seeking a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, including the Philadelphi corridor.
Reuters, BUELLTON, California, August 21 – U.S. S. The White House said that President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone on Wednesday, emphasizing the urgency of reaching a ceasefire agreement for the hostages in Gaza and highlighting the importance of the forthcoming Cairo negotiations.
Their phone call came after U. S. The brief visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East concluded on Tuesday without an agreement on a truce between Hamas militants and Israel in the Palestinian enclave.
Negotiators are scheduled to meet in Cairo in the coming days after months of trying to reach a ceasefire agreement.
A White House statement regarding the call stated, “The president emphasized the urgency of concluding the ceasefire and hostage release agreement and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles.”.
According to the statement, Biden and Netanyahu also talked about U.S. S. actions to back Israel “against all Iranian threats, encompassing its proxy terrorist organizations, the Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas, including continuous defensive U.S. S. military actions. “.”.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, was killed in Tehran on July 31, and Iran has vowed to exact revenge, accusing Israel of being responsible. Israel has not acknowledged or refuted its involvement in the murders.
To help defend Israel, the United States has directed the Abraham Lincoln strike group to expedite its deployment to the Middle East and has ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine.
Blinken and Qatari and Egyptian mediators have their sights set on a U.S. s. “bridging proposal,” which sought to close the divide between the opposing sides in the 10-month-old Gaza conflict.
A White House statement earlier claimed that “President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to discuss the ceasefire and hostage release deal and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions.”.
The Democratic nominee for president in November is Vice President Kamala Harris, who will formally accept the nomination on Thursday in Chicago. 5 election, and joined the call as well.
Though on vacation at an 8,000-acre ranch in California’s Santa Ynez Valley, Biden was predicted to put pressure on Netanyahu to back down from a recent Israeli demand that it be permitted to maintain forces along a land corridor between Egypt and Gaza, a U.S. S. stated prior to the call, an official.
The Philadelphi corridor is a slender 14 point 5 km (nine mile) stretch of land that runs along the coastal enclave’s southern border with Egypt. An Israeli television report on Wednesday, citing Netanyahu’s office, claimed that the country had decided to remove its troops from it.
For Biden, reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza is of utmost importance. An older U.S. s. a final agreement has been painfully elusive, but an official on Friday described the talks as close to a deal.
Hamas is requesting an Israeli pullout from Gaza, including the Philadelphi corridor, as part of negotiations to end the 10-month-old conflict.
Israel claims that the tunnels beneath the corridor it destroyed to smuggle weapons to Gaza’s militant groups, and it wants to keep control of the corridor, which it took in late May.
(This story has been revised to remove an error from paragraph 6).
Editing by Cynthia Osterman, with additional reporting from David Ljunggren and Rami Ayyub, and reporting by Steve Holland.
