Netanyahu Contradicts Biden’s Hopes for Gaza Deal

The Biden administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear to be at odds over the likelihood of reaching a cease-fire deal and securing the release of hostages in Gaza. Netanyahu stated that reports of a potential breakthrough were “exactly inaccurate,” denying that any agreement was imminent.

In an interview with “Fox and Friends” on Thursday, Netanyahu rejected the idea of a deal being close, while U.S. officials indicated they were revising a proposal to address ongoing disagreements between Israeli and Hamas leaders. This urgency follows the discovery of six dead hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, over the weekend.

John Kirby, U.S. national security spokesman, emphasized on Thursday that only “implementation details” of a cease-fire plan needed to be resolved. “I’ve heard what the prime minister said. I’m not going to get into a back and forth,” Kirby remarked. “But we believe that, with compromise and leadership, we can still reach a solution.”

President Joe Biden’s administration, approaching the 2024 election, has remained optimistic this summer as it collaborates with Egypt and Qatar to mediate between Israel and Hamas in the ongoing 11-month war in Gaza. A cease-fire agreement would facilitate the release of hostages captured by Hamas during its October 7 attack on Israel, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners—one of the main sticking points in negotiations.

Before Israeli forces found the bodies of six recently killed hostages, U.S. officials had suggested that Israeli and Hamas leaders could reach a deal by the end of the week. Biden had expressed optimism last Friday, saying, “It’s far from over, but I think we’ve got a shot.”

However, Netanyahu has resisted, adding demands that could delay any agreement. His government recently insisted on maintaining Israeli control over a buffer zone along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Netanyahu claims is essential to stop Hamas from smuggling arms. Hostage families have accused Netanyahu of obstructing the deal, potentially jeopardizing their loved ones to maintain this border strip, known as the Philadelphi corridor.

Facing pressure from both domestic and international sources, Netanyahu has defended his approach, stating that only intense pressure on Hamas will force them into concessions. While the Biden administration insists that Hamas is the primary obstacle to an agreement, Biden recently answered “no” when asked if Netanyahu was doing enough in the negotiations.

Shira Efron, a policy advisor at the Israel Policy Forum, noted that Israel often agrees to certain terms in private but makes public statements that undermine the progress. Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, observed that the current talks seem more like a negotiation between the U.S. and Netanyahu, with the Israeli prime minister holding a stronger position.

The U.S. and Arab countries, including Egypt, have objected to Israel’s demand for a lasting presence in the Philadelphi corridor. Hamas has also criticized Israel for violating the cease-fire proposal’s condition for withdrawing from populated areas of Gaza. Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have said that Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, are more cooperative than their public remarks suggest.

A senior U.S. official disclosed that Israel and Hamas had agreed on 14 out of 18 paragraphs in the cease-fire proposal, with minor technical disagreements and deeper divisions over three key paragraphs. These focus on the exchange of hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners during a six-week cease-fire.

The deaths of the six hostages have complicated the prisoner-to-hostage exchange ratio, which was initially based on the number of hostages involved. With fewer hostages now part of the deal, negotiations over the number of prisoners to be released in return continue.

Netanyahu confirmed they are still discussing the number of prisoners to be freed and whether they will be allowed to return home or will have to leave.

Hopes remain that a cease-fire could reduce tensions and prevent the conflict from escalating further, especially as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon has intensified since the October 7 Hamas attack, in which around 1,200 people were killed and roughly 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

Israel’s counteroffensive has claimed over 40,000 Palestinian lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Kirby reiterated that significant progress had been made in structuring a potential deal.