On Monday, President Joe Biden said he did not think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had done enough to secure a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
Biden announced this to reporters at the weekend the bodies of six hostages He was found in the Gaza tunnel executed by Hamas. Among those discovered was the body of a 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Paulinhis parents had publicly pleaded for their son’s return. They brought a couple personal appeal They were greeted with a standing ovation until the Democratic National Convention.
The search for hostages has begun mass protests Like hundreds of thousands of people inside Israel the opposition accuses Netanyahu failure to enter into a pledge agreement. A nationwide strike that threatens to paralyze the economy began on Monday.
Asked by reporters if he thought Netanyahu had done enough to secure the deal, the president replied, “No.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly accused Hamas of holding up the deal, but recently U.S. and foreign officials said. The terms presented by Netanyahu also thwarted his efforts.
NBC News has reached out to Netanyahu and the Israeli embassy for comment.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the US hostage treaty negotiating team in the White House Situation Room on Monday morning. Attendees include Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, and CIA Director William Burns, among others.
From the South Lawn of the White House, Biden said he was “very close” to delivering a final bailout deal this week.
But in the year-long war, the president could not say definitively whether the deal would be acceptable.
“Hope is eternal,” he said.
Biden added that he had spoken with the families of the hostages.
“I have spoken to his mother and father and we are not giving up. We will continue to do our best,” he said.