Biden, Netanyahu discuss efforts to reach Israel-Hamas war ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday about efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, a sign of the intensifying push to reach a deal before Donald Trump's inauguration next week.

Talks mediated over the past year by the US, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled at moments when they seemed close to a deal. Still, in recent days, US officials have expressed hope of sealing an agreement.

Sunday's call between Biden and Netanyahu came as the head of Israel's Mossad foreign intelligence agency, David Barnea, and Biden's top Mideast adviser, Brett McGurk, were both in the Qatari capital Doha. Barnea's presence, confirmed by Netanyahu's office, meant high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved in talks.

McGurk has been working on final details of a text to be presented to both sides, Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told CNN's "State of the Union". But he said he would not predict whether a deal can be reached by January 20, the day of the inauguration.

"We are very, very close," he said. "Yet being very close still means we're far because until you actually get across the finish line, we're not there."  The White House and Netanyahu's office both confirmed the phone call between the two leaders without providing details.

Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the earliest weeks of fighting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week a deal is "very close" and he hoped to complete it before handing over diplomacy to the incoming Trump administration.

Under discussion now is a phased ceasefire, with Netanyahu signalling he is committed only to the first phase, a partial hostage release in exchange for a weekslong halt in fighting.

Hamas has insisted on a full Israeli troop withdrawal from the largely devastated territory, but Netanyahu has insisted on destroying Hamas' ability to fight in Gaza.

Issues in the talks have included which hostages would be released in the first part of a phased ceasefire deal, which Palestinian prisoners would be released and the extent of any Israeli troop withdrawal from population centres in Gaza.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, according to the territory's Health Ministry, whose count does not give a breakdown between fighters and civilians. Israel's campaign was triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted around 250 others.

Families of the roughly 100 hostages still held in Gaza are pressing Netanyahu to reach a deal to bring their loved ones home. Israelis rallied again Saturday night in the city of Tel Aviv, with photos of hostages on display.

In Gaza, Palestinians were tempering their hopes for a stop to Israel's campaign, which has devastated much of the territory and driven more than 80 per cent of its 2.3 million people from their homes.

"We hear that there are negotiations every day, but we see nothing," said Mazen Hammad, a resident of the southern city of Khan Younis. "When we see it on the ground, then we believe that there is a truce.