US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone – in Biden's final week in office – as momentum builds toward a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
It is understood that Israel and Hamas are making progress, but uncertainty remains over key aspects of a potential agreement.
The White House said Biden discussed “radically changed regional conditions” in the wake of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.
Netanyahu's office said he briefed Biden on the instructions he issued to senior negotiators in Doha “in order to move forward with the release of the hostages.”
During Sunday's call, which was the first to be publicly announced since October, Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages with increased humanitarian aid enabled by the cessation of fighting under the agreement.”
This came a day after Netanyahu sent a high-ranking Israeli security delegation, including the directors of the Mossad and the Shin Bet security services, to conduct indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital, mediated by Qatari, American and Egyptian officials.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu is meeting with members of his government opposed to the ceasefire agreement to persuade them not to resign.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem to discuss progress in reaching an agreement.
On Saturday, Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, met with the Israeli prime minister amid efforts to try to reach an agreement before the president-elect's inauguration on January 20.
Trump has previously said that “all hell will break loose” if the hostages are not released before he returns to the White House.
Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the agreement was “very close” and that he hoped to “overcome it” before Trump took office. He added that any agreement would depend on the proposals put forward by Biden in May.
Despite the apparent increased activity, there remains a lack of clarity on several key issues – including whether the initial truce will lead to a permanent ceasefire and whether the IDF will agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza.
Anshel Pfeffer, a correspondent for The Economist in Israel, said he doubted an agreement could be reached quickly.
“We've been here many times before,” he told the BBC's Today programme.
“There is more room for optimism, but until there is an official announcement or a truce or a ceasefire and we start to see the hostages exit, I will remain skeptical.”
But he added that it is in the interest of Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement before Trump takes office.
He added: “There is a fear (from Hamas) that Trump will somehow give Israel permission to unleash the destruction it has not yet unleashed in Gaza.”
“Both sides feel very invested. They've suffered a lot.”
The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were returned to Gaza as hostages. Israel launched a military attack on Gaza to destroy Hamas in response.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 46,500 people were killed during the war.
Israel says 94 hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead, in addition to four other Israelis kidnapped before the war, two of whom died.
