U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon, said his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, as officials race to secure an agreement on hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza before Biden leaves office on January 20.
Jake Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program that the parties were “very, very close” to reaching an agreement to halt the fighting in the enclave and free the remaining 98 hostages.
“We are still committed to using every day we have in office to get this done,” he said.
He added that there was still a chance to reach an agreement before Biden leaves office, but it was also possible that “Hamas, in particular, may remain intransigent.”
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters attacked Israeli territory in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli reports.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the enclave destroyed and engulfed in a humanitarian crisis, and the majority of its population displaced.
