US President Joe Biden on Monday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages taken by Palestinian armed group Hamas.
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Asked by reporters at the White House – where Biden was arriving for a meeting with US negotiators – if he thought the Israeli leader was doing enough on the issue, the president responded: “No.”
Biden’s meeting with the negotiators on the hostage-release deal comes after the deaths on Saturday of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.
The president said negotiators were “very close” to a final proposal to be presented to Israel and Hamas.
Biden’s schedule was revised to make time for the White House meeting, which was also to be attended by Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him in November’s presidential election.