President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss the prospects of a possible ceasefire agreement to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, while reiterating his warnings of a new Israeli attack on the southern city of Rafah Gaza Strip, officials said.
The call was intended to pave the way for Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who left Washington just hours earlier on Sunday for his latest trip to the Middle East to stem the war in Gaza. Mr. Blinken traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet Egyptian and Qatari officials who have served as Hamas’s mediators in the cease-fire and hostage-taking negotiations that remain in a stalemate.
While Mr. Blinken was in flight on Sunday, the State Department announced he would also stop in Jordan and Israel after attending a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh. The minister has been a key player in the Biden administration’s efforts to bring about an end to the war, increase humanitarian aid and secure the release of more than 100 hostages believed to have been held since the Hamas-led attack Terrorist attack on October 7th still in Gaza.
An administration official said about three-quarters of the president’s nearly hour-long phone call with Mr. Netanyahu focused on the potential deal. American officials said Israel accepted the plan drawn up by the United States and they blamed Hamas for failing to reach an agreement, which they described as unconstructive. During the call, the president agreed that it remained up to Hamas to accept the latest proposal, the official said.
The two leaders also discussed hostage videos released by Hamas last week, including ones showing two hostages with American citizenship. American officials are puzzled over why Hamas would release these videos more than six months after the hostages were captured, although it is possible that the aim was to increase public Israeli pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to make more concessions to achieve a To reach an agreement he was able to enforce taking hostages home.
The president’s call to Mr. Netanyahu came three weeks after Mr. Biden told the prime minister that he would reconsider his support for Israel’s war if the country did not do more to facilitate the delivery of food and other aid to Gaza and to limit the number of civilian casualties. Since then, humanitarian aid to Gaza has increased significantly, and Biden advisers praise Israel for responding to the president’s calls, although they acknowledge more is needed.
Israel has withdrawn some of its forces from the southern Gaza Strip but says it is still planning a major attack on Rafah, where about a million Palestinians have sought refuge. Biden administration officials have expressed concerns about the potential operation, and Israeli officials have said they will take this feedback into account and consult further with American counterparts
In a statement after the call, the White House said that Mr. Biden “reiterated his clear position” on any Rafah operation and discussed with the prime minister the “ongoing discussions to secure the release of hostages as well as an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.”
“The President and Prime Minister also discussed increasing humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, including through preparations to open new northern crossings starting this week,” the statement said. “The President emphasized the need to maintain and enhance this progress in full coordination with humanitarian organizations.”
The statement made only passing reference to the recent clash between Israel and Iran, saying only that Mr. Biden “reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security after successfully repelling Iran’s missile and drone attack earlier this month.”
Israeli and U.S. forces, with help from European and Arab allies, shot down nearly all of the more than 300 missiles and drones Iran fired at Israel earlier this month in retaliation for Israel’s killing of senior Iranian officers. Israel heeded Mr. Biden’s pleas for restraint and fired only a symbolic counterattack, and both sides have indicated they want to avoid further escalation.
With the immediate threat of a major war seemingly fading, Mr. Biden and his team could turn their attention back to Gaza. Under the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal, Israel would halt hostilities for six weeks and release hundreds of Palestinians held in its prisons in exchange for the release of 40 hostages held by Hamas, mostly women, elderly men and people with health problems. Later phases of the agreement would then extend the ceasefire and lead to the release of more hostages.
American officials said a deal was blocked by Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader hiding in Gaza. Israel put a new counter-proposal on the table on Friday, raising the prospect of a more lasting end to hostilities. Hamas, which has called for a permanent end to the war as part of any deal, said Saturday it had received the proposal and was considering it.
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2024-04-28 22:30:32
www.nytimes.com
