US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a source familiar with the matter said, as US officials race to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on January 20.
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s State of the Union programme earlier on Sunday the parties were “very, very close” to reaching a deal, but still had to get it across the finish line.
He said Biden was getting daily updates on the talks in Doha, Qatar, where Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in the indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas.
“We are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done,” Sullivan said, “and we are not, by any stretch of imagination, setting this aside.”
He said there was still a chance to reach an agreement before Biden leaves office, but that it was also possible “Hamas, in particular, remains intransigent”.
