President Joe Biden, as he returned to the White House on Monday to meet with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure an agreement.
Ahead of the Situation Room meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris and the negotiating team, Biden was asked if by a reporter, “Do you think it’s time Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue, do you think he’s doing enough?”
“No,” Biden replied, emphatically.
The president was also asked if he was planning to present a “final” proposed hostage deal to Israel and Hamas this week after months of tense negotiations have failed to reach to reach an agreement.
“We’re very close to that,” he said.
President Joe Biden talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
According to senior administration officials, President Biden is considering presenting Israel and Hamas a final proposal for a cease-fire and hostage deal in Gaza but nothing is definitive.
If the deal falls apart, there is a chance it could lead to the end of the U.S.-led negotiations, according to one of the officials.
Another senior official said that they all have a “sense of urgency and believe this negotiation needs to come to a close.”
Biden is deliberating whether the parties should continue hashing out the deal and its technical details, or if the U.S. should present a new proposal that bridges the gaps.
As Biden returned to Washington to speak with his team, protests were unfolding in Tel Aviv calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas after six Israeli hostages were found dead in Gaza.
President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Netanyahu on Sunday said efforts to free hostages are ongoing and blamed Hamas for refusing “to conduct real negotiations.”
“He who murders hostages does not want a deal,” Netanyahu said in a recorded statement as he faced pressure to address Israelis.
Hamas, meanwhile, said it was Israel who “evading reaching a ceasefire agreement.”
Ninety-seven Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including seven Americans, three of whom are confirmed to be dead.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, and whose body has been found underground in the Rafah area of the Gaza.
Bring Them Home Now via Reuters
On Monday, the funeral procession is being held for Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem. The 23-year-old was at a music festival in south Israel celebrating his birthday on Oct. 7 when he was taken hostage by Hamas.
President Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” after Israel Defense Forces recovered the six killed hostages, including Goldberg-Polin.
“I have gotten to know his parents, Jon and Rachel. They have been courageous, wise, and steadfast, even as they have endured the unimaginable,” Biden said. “They have been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions. I admire them and grieve with them more deeply than words can express.”
ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé contributed to this report.